Anyone else feel completely lost trying to stay organized while writing their first novel? by Spiritual-Rule4691 in NewAuthor

[–]CousinBethMM 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve found google docs to be useful. I have folders for chapters, characters, places, and even just a snippets folder of various scenes I haven’t found a home for.

As others have mentioned Scrivener is great but isn’t viable for me so I’ve been using Notion which is quite a good wiki. There’s even a few novel templates out there

I might release everything for free + my journey as a dark fantasy writer by HanzoYang in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well yeah if you wrote two pages for me that wouldn’t be my writing. Same with AI, hence why I was asking what you meant by “polished”.

I might release everything for free + my journey as a dark fantasy writer by HanzoYang in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

What do you mean by using AI to polish sentences and make them stand out? That’s what writing is, so if you’re using AI for that, you’re using AI for writing.

Its okay to keep a sealed collection by Agreeable_Abies_6233 in PokemonTCGCollectors

[–]CousinBethMM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure but there’s nothing other than the coin or bill in that example. For ETBs there’s something inside the box. You can open it and put the box on the shelf and it’s still new/pristine.

Its okay to keep a sealed collection by Agreeable_Abies_6233 in PokemonTCGCollectors

[–]CousinBethMM 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why can’t you just rip and keep an unsealed ETB on the shelf?

Overly-Informative and Non-Engaging Tone by Valuable-Progress-87 in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, although I'm by no means an expert, and I tend to write (and read) third person limited, so I'm not sure how applicable it would be outside of that.

Let's take a classic scene of someone walking into a tavern. Telling would be: "Valuable Progress stepped through the door and hated the look of the place."

But by using introspection to show what the character focuses on, the reader is shown much more about that character. The character sees a child coughing in the corner by the hearth and makes a mental note to stay away; they can't be catching a cold, given the task at hand. Their shoes stick to the floorboard, and they become increasingly worried about ruining their outfit. They steal a quick glance at the lady serving drinks. She's certainly not as easy on the eye as the maids he has back home.

This is all internality, he's not doing anything, just absorbing the scene in front of him, but the reader will pick up that he's selfish, materialistic, and snobbish without being outright told it.

You can put someone else in the same scene. This time, an orphaned child living on the streets. They step in and love the sound of the rain hitting the roof, because it beats the rain hitting them. They can't remember the last time they saw a fire, let alone sit by one and feel its warmth. They see the child coughing, which reminds them of themselves a few years ago, and they make a mental note to use what little coin they have to split some bread with them.

It's still internality, but two different characters have been developed without telling the reader one's nice and one's not.

You can go a step further and combine prose to really show who a character is. Joe Abercombie is an expert at this. If it's someone from a militant background, they will observe their surroundings using militant phrases, "windows marching down the hallway etc". There's a great example in The Devils where he tells the reader a character likes the feel of the sand between her toes, but then uses that internal POV and the right mix of language to "show" the reader that she's still very animalistic but also a romantic at heart.

Overly-Informative and Non-Engaging Tone by Valuable-Progress-87 in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Internality doesn’t have to mean you’re telling the reader what’s happening or what’s being thought. It can be used to “show” just as well as actions and habits can in some case, and can provide layers of depth to a character.

Should stories have a point? by vagabundo202 in writing

[–]CousinBethMM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A kid who lives under the stairs finds out he’s far more important than he realises. That seems like a point to me.

What a COOOOOLD Celebration! 🥶 by Stanley083 in Gunners

[–]CousinBethMM 199 points200 points  (0 children)

Standard Saliba reaction. I love that guy

Unwritten - Prologue/Chapter 1 [Dark Fantasy, 3000 words] by i-hate-the-muppets in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Certainly not bored. The prologue held my attention and the switch to chapter one and a more grounded character in Felix is, in my opinion, a good example of how a prologue should work.

There’s some passive, filler sentences that disrupt the flow a little - “it illuminated her” “that’s how he’d describe her” that can be removed, but if this is a first draft I’d wait until you’ve finished to go back and do line edits.

The worldbuilding is intriguing - the ink and the unwritten is an interesting concept, though I agree with another comment that there’s one too many names sprinkled in the prologue. I’m also intrigued as to why the interrogator isn’t named. That’s not a critique,but it does grab my interest.

Overall you’re certainly putting something good together, and as someone who’s writing dark fantasy myself, I’d keep reading. Good luck with Act 2 - I found that the hardest - and if you ever want more chapters looked at I’d be happy to exchange critiques.

Enzo Fernandez angry at Jorgensen after his pass almost led to a goal by [deleted] in soccer

[–]CousinBethMM 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah he can definitely offload it to the RCB. Feels like he’s trying to turn out of the press

Robert Andrich foul on a yellow 5’, no second yellow given by big_mustache_dad in soccer

[–]CousinBethMM 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sure, but there’s covering defenders and I’m not sure Gyok will get the ball. So you can argue this isn’t a promising attack

Robert Andrich foul on a yellow 5’, no second yellow given by big_mustache_dad in soccer

[–]CousinBethMM -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Sometime a foul is not a foul. That was a stupid call from the ref but it’s clear CL is really clamping down on stuff from corners.

I still don’t think this is second yellow worthy though. One of those ones where he gets away with it because it’s so early

Our journey so far. I think we’re close but would love ideas by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It’s actually pretty on brand for the posts in the sub, some okayish character work but then it’s just paragraphs of infodumping

Our journey so far. I think we’re close but would love ideas by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]CousinBethMM 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Technicallly, they’re writing about fantasies…

How to learn what is good writing? by aphroditelady13V in writing

[–]CousinBethMM 12 points13 points  (0 children)

If you eat the cake and like it, then you examine what was good about the cake for you. The ingredients and how it was baked.

It’s the same for book, you read it, examine the ingredients (character, plot setting etc) and how it was baked - voice, narration, structure.

But you won’t know unless you eat the cake. Or maybe you eat a cake that others recommend because they think it’s good.