The Aspiring Authors Society discussion

Enjoy x

Thank you so much!

Of course!

Can anyone give me blackmail ideas? (For my book)

I was going to say!
LOL
Umm it depends on the situation and many other stuff- so if you gave the scenario?
It needs to be something the protagonist already fears, something that will way upon them: a scandalous secret; death or harm inflicted to a loved one; not carrying something out for them; watching over a loved one etc
The classic one we all may be familiar with is 'I'm going to tell [insert guardian] off you if you...'

I already know what the character is being blackmailed out of doing, but I don't know what she did that was so bad that she agrees to the blackmail. (I don't know if I worded that right but hopefully you get what I mean)

Yep
Genre?
If there is magic, you could use it to say the person won't bring a loved one from the dead or something to do with the other part you are doing
Which is very dark

It's with the same book as before, and because of the character that's being blackmailed, it can't be because of any of the fantasy parts of my book. So for this purpose, it's mystery.

Ah I see- maybe keep the blackmailing a mystery too
Hmm, maybe this character did something scandelous, commited a serious crime or something.
Think: What would you fear if someone blackmailed you with something?

Does anyone know of any good websites to make a character? Something like Picrew? (But obviously not Picrew)

I've heard of Artbreeder? Or something, does sound weird- I have no idea if it works or anything but seriously? No curly hair- that is so rude

https://blog.worldanvil.com/2020/11/1...

i use artbreeder, it takes some time to know the controls but it is quite easy to understand. I have used it for a lot of references.

Cool!

wait what’s wrong with picrew?

Reading on Wheels wrote: "wait what’s wrong with picrew?"

Nothing's wrong with it for me I just wanted something more realistic.

Reagan wrote: "Nothing's wrong with it for me I just wanted something more realistic."

Oh, got it. If you're interested in commissions I have artist friends with realistic styles that I will shamelessly promote

Osh.the.Moth wrote: "i just think the picrew ads are to creepy for me
but piccrew itself is awesome"

Got it. They are super creepy and for what🤠

I'm only 12,000 words into my novel, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to write a full novel. So far the twists are coming too soon and its moving really quickly and I'll be lucky to get 30,000 words. Does anybody have any tips on how to slow it down (without making the story drag on)?

Reagan wrote: "I'm only 12,000 words into my novel, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to write a full novel. So far the twists are coming too soon and it's moving really quickly and I'll be lucky to get 30..."

If your story is progressing, it's fine if it's short. I can number many fast-paced shorter stories that I have enjoyed- so if it's just the length, don't worry too much.
But if you feel like it needs more progression, then add plot twists or more details. Add more components for breadth and depth.
Why is everything moving quickly? Is it because you are opting for the easiest solutions or routes? Switch it up-make your characters fail and have setbacks. It will add to the story, angst and character development.

Reagan wrote: "I'm only 12,000 words into my novel, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to write a full novel. So far the twists are coming too soon and its moving really quickly and I'll be lucky to get 30..."

Could be a good idea to open it up to beta readers to get a reader's opinion of what they're missing/want more of etc.? More than likely things are moving so quickly because you feel like you know the story so well, getting someone to read it who doesn't have it in their head will be able to point out the areas that need more establishing :)

I've finished the first draft of the book I was previously writing, and am taking a break from it before I start editing. But right now I'm outlining for a book that I plan to write for Nanowrimo. In the book, there's going to be a lot of people who have a mental or physical disability, specifically ones that would make a typical school structure difficult in some way. Does anyone have any ideas as to which ones I could portray? Preferrably common and rare ones.

Reagan wrote: "I've finished the first draft of the book I was previously writing, and am taking a break from it before I start editing. But right now I'm outlining for a book that I plan to write for Nanowrimo. ..."

Cool!
Autism, OCD, Asperger's syndrome, Cystic fibrosis, someone who uses a wheelchair but never used to, someone who has a disease they doctors do not know how to cure, cancer survivor etc
Of course, care and research needs to take place for these, as they span along spectrums and not everyone will experience the same thing.
May it go wonderfully!
Hope it goes well!

Reagan wrote: "I'm only 12,000 words into my novel, and I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to write a full novel. So far the twists are coming too soon and its moving really quickly and I'll be lucky to get 30..."

Are you sure you want to write a full novel? You could always opt to write a novella (at least for the first few drafts), and then possibly convert it to a novel later on :)

Some of the best advice that I've gotten when your story is dragging you along too quickly is this: What does your character want? Write that, and then write almost every. Single. Way to prevent them from getting what they want. Whether they actually get what they desire is up to you as the writer. It sounds simple, and honestly, it is. Of course, actually putting it into practice can be difficult, but by thinking of ways to prevent the protagonist from getting what they want, your brain is automatically going to want to create more trials, plot twists, etc. that will add to the storyline and help your story to go a bit slower. Hope this helps!

So so late to answering your question (also good luck with NaNo!!) but probably the three most common and well known ones are OCD, ADHD and Autism and they impact quite a bit but vary from person to person (also Dyslexia). Some more uncommon or unknown ones include Tourettes and Maladaptive Daydreaming. Then there’s also Cerebral Palsy which is infinitely different depending on the person. There are speech or learning disabilities too. You could do amputees or people with wheel chairs as well.

Reagan wrote: "I've finished the first draft of the book I was previously writing, and am taking a break from it before I start editing. But right now I'm outlining for a book that I plan to write for Nanowrimo. ..."

You could look into PANS/PANDAS. It's not rare, but it's not well-known either. There are a range of symptoms that vary from person to person, but they all make school difficult.

I'm doing Nanowrimo this year, and I'm a little behind, but I think I can still catch up. But even if I don't, it's my first year doing it, so I don't think I'll be to disapointed. It also doesn't help that I'm reading a really good book right now...I hate having to put it down to write. And of course, I just got out a reading slump, so all I want to do is read.

I feel like when something becomes something that I have to do, I lose motivation for it, aka Nanowrimo. Obviously, I don't have to do it, but I want to, but I don't have any motivation to do it. I think it would help if I had someone to do word wars with, because I'm too competitive for my own good. But the two people who I know irl who are writers don't want to do Nanowrimo and don't want to do any word wars.

I’ve struggled with this same problem several times and the best thing you can do is not force yourself to write, it will just make it worse. There are infinite ways you can approach this and different ways work better for different people and situations. A few the things I’ve tried are
A) lowering your goal, maybe wait a couple days to see how much you’re writing a day now, then lower it to whatever sounds manageable, you can always raise it again
B) switching projects, sometimes this helps a lot because it can spark your interest again and it’s like starting from the beginning but with a head start
C) writing sprints, a couple ten minute writing sprints can really save a daily goal, you can even play a song two or three times on repeat and call that your timer
those three seem to help me the most, but really anything you think will work or might want to try is worth a shot. hope this helps :)

I’ve never heard of word wars, what are they? Because I would be open to trying it out, my motivations been dwindling and I’m competing too so I’m intrigued lol

I GOOGLED IT AND THEY SOUND FUN! so I'm definitely up for it if you want to :)

I'd love to!

sorry this group stopped sending me notifications for some reason, if you’re still wanting to do a word war then what would you want to make the time limit or goal?