The Writing (and Artistic) Ranting Thread

[lorddemolatron]

And now really i think i got someone finally for guardian role in mine FF XIII fanfic, gotta this one be suprise so cannot spoil it now, it will end revealed on full ch 1.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

I'm undecided on whether I'm returning to my original concept for Arcane Guardian (involving a bunch of short stories following Forneus's life) or if I should take the 2044 part of the plot and give it more focus (which would involve chopping entire chapters/losing a lot of character relationships/growth).

Basically AG is a jumbled mess because I couldn't make up my mind while writing it. I have a sneaking suspicion draft two won't be any different...

 

[V's patron]

People are commenting on Archiveofourown for Unexpected Guest.

They are asking for the next chapter which is fine. I used to do that so its interesting being on the other side.

One of them thought i was a girl so i clarified im a dude.

One poster wanted a happy ending for this fic which i didn't see happening. So i responded that it wasn't likely.

I also recommended she (i assumed it was a she) should go write her idea herself. My intent was not to be cruel but to inspire her to put her own story out there.

Fanfic should be written because its the stuff you want to see. Thats why i wrote this story and why i think writing should be done in the first place.

I have a ton of ideas for V that i have to figure out what to do with.

 

[Xeroxis]

I typically spend a decent amount to time writing, but I never post anything anywhere because I'm never sure if it's actually any good. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[V's patron]

I typically spend a decent amount to time writing, but I never post anything anywhere because I'm never sure if it's actually any good. Does anyone else have this problem?

Yep but thats stop me from writing period. Writer's block is also about lack of confidence. It's also you either think too much or you didn't think enough. Or your just lazy or all of the above.

I'd suggest if you have a backlog of completed fics, just post it and see what happens.

 

[Rebel Dynasty]

Ever have an old story you abandoned/lost come back from the dead? 'Cause I'm pretty sure something I wrote in my early- to mid-teens (and lost) is demanding its place in my writing queue. It's funny, because WoN was essentially built on a few of this old story's bones, which was greatly inspired by Cardcaptor Sakura--hence why I've at one time or another cited that WoN has some loosely-borrowed themes from Cardcaptor Sakura (and when I say loosely, I mean loosely; there's little that compares between them).

Even if I still had the story, I wouldn't be able to keep it as is (aside from whatever horror show passed for writing at the age of...whatever I was; 14, maybe?). But I do feel that it could be reworked without sacrificing too much of whatever has allowed it to stay in my mind after all these years. The thought's definitely crossed my mind before, but the fact that it's become frequent lately tells me there's a story there that needs to be told.

And hopefully one that, now that I'm older, I'll be able to do justice--even if it has to undergo major surgery first.

 

[Picard]

The problem I have with writing is that I tend to overthink things. I am still laying out background for my sci-fi setting, which had gone through numerous iterations and overhauls starting back in... 2015, I think? And at this point, I am fairly certain I have enough written just in background material to publish a book. That is partly a consequence of my own mentality, and partly a consequence of my first attempts at writing, when I gave up writing because I had no clue how to continue.

 

[V's patron]

I've been slacking on my writing because of nerves and DMCV.

But I've been trying to journal every day and I sent out my tv script out for notes. There is a group called Coverfly and they give me some good feedback.

 

[Dante's Stalker]

This might be worth looking at for anybody interested in getting their work onto the big screen:
https://taleflick.com/blogs/articles

 

[Morgan]

The problem I have with writing is that I tend to overthink things. I am still laying out background for my sci-fi setting, which had gone through numerous iterations and overhauls starting back in... 2015, I think? And at this point, I am fairly certain I have enough written just in background material to publish a book. That is partly a consequence of my own mentality, and partly a consequence of my first attempts at writing, when I gave up writing because I had no clue how to continue.

Same, although I've come to terms with the habit of planning things and have gotten away from thinking of it as a problem. The fact is, most well-written stories don't show their work, but work was done. Background is background and the story is the story. The background can bolster the story, but it does it from the obvious point of... you know. In terms of time taken, even famous authors have remarked that their debut novel took upwards of four years to a decade to finally get out.

I would suggest you take your time and not overthink the overthinking, but I base this on my own personal experience, particularly with character-driven fare: once the groundwork is laid out for the setting and how things work (tech, culture, language, social classes, politics and religion, all that stuff), that's about 70%+ of the work done. At that point, the basic concepts of characters get poked into it and they practically tell me who they are and what they want to do, and the words get going.

Though if you recognize that your plotting is getting in the way of writing (like, you're procrastinating), you should try writing and just shove in some [bold and brackets] for stuff you don't have a solid grasp of, but just keep writing after that and put the concrete in later. As an example.

 

[Picard]

Same, although I've come to terms with the habit of planning things and have gotten away from thinking of it as a problem. The fact is, most well-written stories don't show their work, but work was done. Background is background and the story is the story. The background can bolster the story, but it does it from the obvious point of... you know. In terms of time taken, even famous authors have remarked that their debut novel took upwards of four years to a decade to finally get out.

I would suggest you take your time and not overthink the overthinking, but I base this on my own personal experience, particularly with character-driven fare: once the groundwork is laid out for the setting and how things work (tech, culture, language, social classes, politics and religion, all that stuff), that's about 70%+ of the work done. At that point, the basic concepts of characters get poked into it and they practically tell me who they are and what they want to do, and the words get going.

Though if you recognize that your plotting is getting in the way of writing (like, you're procrastinating), you should try writing and just shove in some [bold and brackets] for stuff you don't have a solid grasp of, but just keep writing after that and put the concrete in later. As an example.

Thanks. That really helps.

 

[Dante's Stalker]

Ugh.
My head is overrun with plot bunnies and characters and floating scenes.
But I can't write.
As soon as I sit down , it all goes phhhhloooshhh in my brain and I can't get my head together enough to write.

 

[Picard]

Ugh.
My head is overrun with plot bunnies and characters and floating scenes.
But I can't write.
As soon as I sit down , it all goes phhhhloooshhh in my brain and I can't get my head together enough to write.

You don't need to - you probably shouldn't - write story right away. If your head is, as you say, overrun with plot bunnies, characters and floating scenes, then write down those first. Doesn't matter how disconnected they may seem, they will help you with fleshing out what you want your story to be, where you want it to go, and you may be able to use them at a later date.

 

[Shadow]

Slowly working my way through the massive prompt list I mentioned a bit ago. But I've kinda hit a block. The one fic that's kinda top priority right now deals quite heavily with suicide ideation and struggling with mental health stuff. And, while I've got help describing the first one and experienced a lot of the second, it's so hard to write this. I don't wanna f*** up the handling of this, especially since this character's mental health is almost always caricatured in fics. But I keep getting stuck on the details and I'm kinda worrying it's just...too depressing. Idk. I need to get this finished but it's kinda exhausting.

 

[V's patron]

I'm wondering if I should scrap what I wrote for Chapter 3 and start again.

 

[Shadow]

I'm wondering if I should scrap what I wrote for Chapter 3 and start again.

Put what you have for it aside and write another draft//version, then compare them when your done? That's usually what I do when I feel like something should be scrapped. Don't throw things away, though...you never know when you might want to use some of what you've already written. ^^

 

[lorddemolatron]

Just forgot to mention that mine story is having 2 part prologue first is from Seeress point of view then second one from Guardian too, just im miserable now

 

[therogis]

I got some really useful, advanced feedback on some parts of my novel manuscript. The reader had read like 10 % of the whole thing, and there was a comment that really made me wonder.

The comment was this: "A family that is about to break apart is a great theme, and I think that there are lots of people who can relate to this."
The problem is this: This is not my main theme. Only the 10 % part I sent to him were about family issues.

So I am currently going back and forth and wondering if I should make it the main theme, and if so, how should it be done. I am also kind of frustrated because I really like the novel but I can't see that much of publishing potential on it. On the other hand I have spent hundreds of hours working on it.

I don't know what to do.

 

[V's patron]

I got some really useful, advanced feedback on some parts of my novel manuscript. The reader had read like 10 % of the whole thing, and there was a comment that really made me wonder.

The comment was this: "A family that is about to break apart is a great theme, and I think that there are lots of people who can relate to this."
The problem is this: This is not my main theme. Only the 10 % part I sent to him were about family issues.

So I am currently going back and forth and wondering if I should make it the main theme, and if so, how should it be done. I am also kind of frustrated because I really like the novel but I can't see that much of publishing potential on it. On the other hand I have spent hundreds of hours working on it.

I don't know what to do.

Did you finish the novel?

 

[Shadow]

@therogis Maybe wait and see what they say after they're done with the entire story? In the end, whether or not you choose to use someone's beta advice is always up to you; if you disagree, you definitely don't have to use it. But you could always test it on multiple beta readers and check the majority if you're worried about it?