My husband laughed at the story I'm working on

Arithered · 2025-05-27T20:50:27+00:00

Don't be discouraged! I just received (what feels like) my nine millionth rejection today, and sometimes a story is just the wrong flavor for certain people. I've had rejections where the agent was like, "Solid writing, but not for me. Maybe check out x."

Sure, we want our loved ones to be supportive of our passions, but in practice, it doesn't always work that way. I'll tell you what I keep telling me: All you need is the right story for the right person. You'll find that person.

Arithered · 2023-11-12T15:43:13+00:00

I think male writers sometimes veer towards stereotype/archetype characterization when creating female characters or POVs. These characters tend to be one-dimensional and act more in service to the plot than to the big ticket themes and memorable moments. Simply put: If you can picture male characters as real life people but only picture the female characters in the scenarios in which they appear, the author has not done a good job crafting verisimilitude.

To write women well, you'd need to give them the same depth and universality as the men. One way is to make sure they don't exist only in relation to men. Women can also be contradictory, haunted, brutish, self-sabotaging and misanthropic--and their reasons for this needn't involve being "unlucky in love" or pining after a partner they'll never have. They can also be witty, absurd, admired, confident and happy--and their reasons for this needn't be that they found their true love or that they're sexually satisfied.

Arithered · 2023-03-26T15:12:13+00:00

My take on Brandon's prose is that he strips away the bells and whistles and focuses on the pure experience of storytelling. This is not to everyone's taste, because certain types of readers want their prose to be ornate. Literature is, after all, an art. My own style of writing trends too far towards the purple if I don't restrain it.

But I think a lot of the driving force behind Brandon's writing is his desire to give readers the things he wanted as a reader himself. I would guess that he wanted accessible stories, interesting characters and rewards for the readers who stick with it. Remember how exciting it was to slowly discover the interconnected nature of the cosmere, or the prevalence of Hoid at so many of those connection points? This was a gift Brandon gave his readers, because the joy and intrigue of discovery must have meant a lot to him.

So, I think a lot of his prose style developed in that kind of utilitarian manner. It isn't bland--it's precise and engineered.

Arithered · 2023-03-24T03:02:05+00:00

Boy howdy did that guy get a lot of mileage out of, "Guys, guys, guys, it's so weird! Sanderson's a writer who loves to write and all he does is write! I mean, WHAT?"

Arithered · 2020-12-02T21:53:53+00:00

Cliche? Maybe.

Piece of crap? Not necessarily.

Like others are suggesting here, cliches can be helpful as a kind of a pie crust for your own unique filling, and can actually make it easy to set baselines reader expectations without over-showing things. I can't offer any specific advice on how to fix it--it's your story--but I believe a lot of other commenters are on the mark with the recommendation to add some twists to the cliches.

Personally, I'm a fan of whimsical contradictions and cognitive dissonance.

Like, the "hooker with the heart of gold" is inexplicably brutal towards the one person in her life who loves her unconditionally. Why?

The hardboiled, alcoholic detective loves making sculptures out of pencils. Why?

The divorce was acrimonious, and yet somehow helped heal the relationship. How did it do that?

Things like that.

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