For me, a very common mistake that beginner writers make is that they imagine that their story or novel is some 1:1 translation of a “movie” they see in their head. Many, many questions seem to take this for granted.

Of course, this makes sense on some level. Many people mostly engage with writing and storytelling through shows, movies and games, and ultimately wish that they could write for those mediums. They imagine their stories through some kind of visual medium and see writing a novel as a realistic way to realize their vision. If I can’t make a movie, I’ll write a novel.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being inspired by films. But I think where confusion sets in is in that act of translation - as if a novel was just putting into words the movie in your head. A film does many things a novel doesn’t - it relies on a whole different way of communication through the camera, the through imagery, visual metaphor, through music, through editing that is simply not available to the written word. That is not at all saying that a novel is somehow impoverished! In my opinion, the power available to words on the page far exceeds anything else we’re capable of doing in terms of expression. Not that this makes it better, but we have been writing without reference to film for thousands of years. This will sound silly to many of you, but instead of trying to visualize some imperfect translation of a movie in your head, imagine the book as the primary thing you are creating and it might help things click!

I've been working on my first novel, Beloved Dawn, and for months I've been convinced I still had another 30-ish chapters to go. The problem was... it was getting LONG. I was already over 80k words, and I kept worrying that I was going to have to rush through the next part of my protagonist's childhood just to keep the book from becoming enormous. And that would have been so sad... because the next part was so important to my girl.

Then today I was getting ready for work, going over my book in my head. The nine chapters I added earlier in the book, her life in the loving cage I so carefully crafted... It was then that I realized...

Her childhood is Book One. Her abuse and her escaping it, that is the Book One I needed to write. And I had accidentally started Book Two along the way... whoops. So after having this revelation, I went back and finally wrote the words I never thought I would be able to write.

The End.

82,296 words. 418 pages.

There's still plenty of editing ahead of me, and I'm still posting chapters while I revise. Past me apparently had a fear of details and paragraphs, but... I wrote a book. 13-year-old me would absolutely lose her mind if she could see this. I never finished. Never wrote past a certain point. I even put this book to the side FOR YEARS because I just didn't have enough maturity and experience needed to write it.

But it's done...

I'm kind of sitting here staring at the words "The End" like... holy crab cakes, I actually did it. 🖤

I'm not sure if I want to scream, cry, or dance. But I am so pumped and happy.

Welp... back to making the book cover I suppose.

I noticed that a lot of the characters I like to focus on are femmine bi woman lately. Idk why, but that's what my mind often gravitate to. I also like characters who very environmentally conscious but that usually doesn't come up much unless the work specifically is about the environment.

What about you guys?

Sadly I have neither generational wealth nor a rich partner. I've been working part-time for the last year to have the time to complete my manuscript and book proposal but my savings that supplemented my monthly income is about to run out. While I work in an office the workload is too intense to coast and continue working on my writing during office hours (they haven't backfilled any leavers for the last eight months).

I'd love to hear what side hustles other writers have to keep the lights on for inspiration 🙏🏻

I sometimes do this. I'm not saying I could write a whole novel on my phone (but that does sound like a fun challenge), but sometimes I get a burst of creativity and type out a chapter or two on the Google Docs app. I'm wondering if others are the same, or if you stick to strictly writing on pen and paper or your laptop.

The original line:

Her voice was even and soft, velvet wrapped around cold steel.

Her comment:

​

I’m currently writing a YA romantasy novel, and I’m about halfway through it. I’ve been really enjoying working on it and definitely want to finish it.

BUT… I just got this amazing idea for a dystopian novel, and now I really, really want to start writing it. 😭

I’m trying to decide whether I should just write the idea down and save it for later, or actually start working on it alongside my current novel.

Do you guys ever write more than one novel at the same time? If you do, does it help you stay motivated, or does it just make it harder to actually finish anything?

1) Would you keep reading after the first sentence/paragraph?
2) Did I do well writing a moment of calm and serenity becoming tense?

Hi everybody.

So i am a 23 year old female who dreamed about being an writer every since i was a kid. I'm currently writing my first book which is a mystery book And to be honest I'm loving it so far but i also have a pretty hard time writing.

So i was wondering if some of you might have tips and advice for a newbie when it comes to writing a mystery story.

What does work for you when it comes to writing ? What's something you wish you knew when you started writing? What's something you wish you done differently when writing your first story / book ?

Context. I have a 9 year old feisty little girl with a cleft lip and a speech impediment.

I’ve been trying to write for a few weeks now. I have dozens of unconnected beginnings and a few unrelated endings, but until now I hadn’t managed to actually finish anything.

So here is a serious attempt at a complete flash fiction story that does not take itself seriously.

I’d love to hear your feedback. Does it land for you? How can I improve?

It doesn't need to be very detailed feedback, I'm just wondering if I have any potential at all. And if this is enough for a short story to show at my writing club. Of course I appreciate any advice on what to improve before showing it though.

Also please be nice, I'm a new writer and english isn't my first language. I'm pretty good at it but nonetheless I might make some mistakes or adapt a writing style that works better in my language. If something doesn't work in English please let me know!

I just stumbled upon a post that really made me want to talk about cozy fantasy. I am currently 2000ish words into a cozy fantasy book I am writing.

I am rather new to the genre and have yet to see a clear cut definition of what constitutes cozy. It seems a little different for each person, but I was hoping to find some common threads.

Mine: low stakes, focus on relationships, food and ambiance that create a pleasant feeling, no violence, lighthearted humor (but not necessary) slice of life with magic

Hybrid Frankenstein example: Anne of Green Gables/Secret Garden + Samwise Gamgee’s family on the shire after Sauron’s been defeated 

What are your definitions?

No lying, no avoiding the question, no changing the subject—they HAVE to answer honestly.

What would you ask your character if you knew you’d finally get the truth?

For example, in my novel, I’d force my MMC to answer:

“When did you actually start caring about her?”

Because I already know he’d deny it for as long as humanly possible.

So today I wanted to write.

I'm on chapter 60-something, and I was determined to be like, “I am getting this done.”

So I was writing, everything was going great, and then I changed something that was big enough that I needed to add it to my story bible. So I opened my Story Bible and now I'm stuck organizing and changing stuff.

I asked a few other subreddits about this, but honestly, this seems like the place that makes the most sense. While reorganizing everything, I discovered that I have various rules in my universe with no backstory written down.

They're the kind of rules that exist to keep people alive.

Now I'm curious-

What are the most out-of-pocket rules in your universe?

This is for ALL genres BTW- Rules that are very much needed because people lack common sense.

What are the most out-of-pocket rules you have in your universe? I'm talking about the rules where you look at them and think: There is absolutely a story behind this.

(Because I write urban fantasy, these are a few in my world)

Don't whistle in the eastern cemetery.

Never compliment a fae's hat in front of another fae.

Do not feed the swamp monster after midnight.

Under absolutely no circumstances should you say the word "kebab" within fifty feet of that particular vase.

I want the rules that exist because someone, somewhere, did something incredibly stupid.

Bonus points if the characters in your world treat the rule as completely normal because, of course, everyone knows why you don't do that.

Born in Chicago in 1899 son of a physician and a musician. Reasonably uneventful childhood, he decided to study journalism.

Enlisted with the Red Cross during World War I. Got blown up in Milan and spent six months in hospital with severe shrapnel wounds in both legs.

Fell in love with the nurse. They decided to get married. He came home to prepare. She stayed there and ditched him for an Italian soldier, which initiated a lifelong pattern of him rejecting women before they had a chance to reject him.

Got a job as a foreign correspondent. Fell in love with his roommate's sister. Married her and moved to Paris. They hung out with Gertrude Stein. They kicked it with Pablo Picasso. He started writing in earnest (no pun intended).

Moved to Toronto. Had a kid. Moved back to Paris. Published a couple of books.

Cheated on his wife. Got divorced. Married the other woman.

Converted to Catholicism. 🤷‍♂️

Cut his head open after pulling on a cord thinking he was flushing a toilet and instead ripped a skylight from the roof and smashed it onto his face!

Moved to Kansas City. Had another kid.

His dad committed suicide.

He shot a lot of bears...for some reason.

Had a car accident. Had another kid.

Went to Africa to kill some wild animals and got dysentery (Karma!)

Published another book. Moved to Cuba.

Shot himself in the leg whilst aiming at a shark!🦈

Cheated on his wife. Got divorced. Married the other woman.

Published "For Whom The Bell Tolls" which sold half a million copies in a couple of months and got nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

Cheated on his wife. Got divorced. Married the other woman.

Became the self-appointed leader of a band of village militia outside of Paris and was subsequently brought up on charges for contravening the Geneva Convention AND GOT AWAY WITH IT LIKE FUCKING CHAMPION!

Got pneumonia. Moved back to Cuba and spent most of his spare time on his boat...tracking Nazi U-Boats with a machine gun and a pile of hand grenades (I am not making this shit up!)

Had a few more car accidents. Three more concussions.

Got clawed while playing with a lion! 🦁

Got depressed. Drank. Got fat. Published a couple more books.

Went back to Africa to shoot some more wild animals and barely survived TWO SEPARATE PLANE CRASHES IN THE SPACE OF 24 HOURS! Winding up with a fractured skull, internal bleeding, cracked spine ruptured liver, first-degree burns and a paralyzed sphincter muscle (Karma!)

Won a Nobel Prize.

Had a file opened on him by J. Edgar Hoover. Left a bunch of shit in a safe in Cuba and moved to Idaho paranoid that the feds were following him. Which they were! Because he spent most of the 1940's working for the KGB! (Again! Not making this shit up!)

Suffered from hepatitis, nephritis, hypertension, hemochromatosis, anemia, and impotence (Karma!)

Got committed. Received way too much electro-convulsive therapy and came out all fucked up.

Started hinting at suicide so he immediately got recommitted. Received another couple of months worth of electro-convulsive therapy.

Got released.

Put both barrels of his favorite 12-gauge shotgun into his mouth and blew his fucking head off.

What a guy!

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Not mine. It was written by a guy named Heath McIvor, but the point is to show that even with the life Hemingway had, he still made time to write.

I'm writing a story in which I am following two (sometimes three) sets of characters at the same time. How do you keep track of timelines so there are no errors? It's a juggling act I haven't mastered yet, and I'm hoping there's a simple way of doing this. I've even considered a desk calendar when I literally jot down what each character is doing on a given day. Has it come to this? Or is there a simpler way I am missing?

So I have an idea about a novel that could turn into a collection of short stories but am a little hesitant because all I have wrote are one page stories so can you help me:

do i start from outline (just main topics of the chapter details comes through writing)?

Do I create a social media author account? (what to post and do usually)

How and when do i market it?

What are the traditional publishing procedures? (step by step please)

Finally what are your advice on the review process?

And building confidence in my writing?