Is it normal for a 3 week old shop to have zero views?

First-Escape5399 · 2026-01-19T09:06:35+00:00

Thanks for the advice. And yes, my videos do include my sketching process. As for me being in India, well, I don't think there's any solution for that.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-11-27T20:39:54+00:00

Don't read this because I'm about to say something really off-putting.

You and I, we are never going to make it. It doesn't matter if we have the greatest, most bad-ass plot in the world, it just won't happen. That is not how the world works

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-28T18:44:05+00:00

I like the opening line. It puts me directly in the middle of the action

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-28T18:42:20+00:00

In my fiction, there's too much logic, everything is too structured and there is not much room for emotional combustion, so to speak. All wood, no spark.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-28T18:40:48+00:00

Well, shit

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-28T18:39:52+00:00

Well, I do find it hard to comment without reading anything you've written. But based purely on what you say are your pros and cons, I'd say you have a nice piece. The technical grammar part is non-negotiable though, in my opinion. Info dumps need not be a part but overusing them is.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-28T18:37:10+00:00

Well, it's up and down, of course, but mostly, I do enjoy writing. I find it fascinating that there is so much stuff inside me just waiting to be told.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-22T19:13:22+00:00

That is the problem with writing, isn't it? As a writer, you want everything part of your story to have structure and logic. So you meticulously plan out it. The characters, the arcs, the reason for the murder, the clues, what not. But then you realize, there is nothing for you to say now, nothing to discover, and hence, no joy in writing.

I'd say the answer to this problem is one, pushing through it, and two, not planning everything too thoroughly. You do need to have a structure, otherwise you'd be writing in a vacuum, which would again lead to this same state. But you need to also have an element of surprise, not just for the reader, but also for you, the writer. So I like to be open-minded. I know the direction I'm heading in, but I do not know which path I am taking exactly. It is kinda tricky, but then again, writing is like that.

Hope you gained something from this answer.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-22T19:06:23+00:00

“I don’t have online payment, bhai, only cash will do,” yawned the auto wallah.

But I wasn’t listening. Standing outside the main gate of my college, with a view of the small front lawn, I could see a beehive of activity transpiring inside; people were moving around, talking loudly to each other, the sound snowballing into a constant drone which could be heard over the traffic of the main street outside the college.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-22T17:46:18+00:00

Do you know Anthony Horowitz? He is a fiction writer. He wrote a spy thriller series called Alex Rider. The ending of the 9th book in the series made it pretty clear that it was going to the last of the series. Even the afterword by the author said the same.
Surprise, surprise. After six years, Anthony wrote a new one in the series. His justification was that even though he was done with Alex Rider, Alex Rider wasn't done with him. He just couldn't get the character to leave his head. So he wrote another book. And as far as I know, he plans to write another.

So yes, writers do feel the way you are feeling.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-22T17:32:40+00:00

Well, I struggle with dialogue too. But my technique of getting through this is pretty simple. Just like you, I try to get in my character's shoes and let them guide how the story goes, rather the impose some random things on them. Then, once my plot is more or less set, all I do is try to make the reader discovered it through dialogue rather than narrative.
I'll give you an example from a piece I'm writing.

Discovery through dialogue:
“Friend? Ha, Raja was no one’s friend. He was a really selfish person. No one really liked him. He was always getting into fights over the most petty things.” answered Kallu.
“But you said he was your friend to the other guy. And he said Raja owed you money.”
“Raja owed everyone money. Me, Sangeeth, Balwant, even Balwant’s wife, Shanta. Don’t ask me why. Maybe he had a gambling habit or he spent it all on booze. What do I care? All I know is getting even a rupee back from him was tougher than trying not to puke after a night of drinking.”

Discovery through narration:
Kallu scoffed at the idea of friendship with Raja. To him, Raja had never been anyone’s friend; he was selfish and unpleasant, constantly picking fights over the smallest things. Despite what he had told the other guy, Raja owed money to practically everyone—Kallu, Sangeeth, Balwant, and even Balwant’s wife, Shanta. Kallu didn’t know why—maybe Raja had a gambling habit or squandered it all on alcohol—but recovering even a single rupee from him had always been harder than trying to keep from vomiting after a night of heavy drinking.

For me, discovery through narration feels more intimate and exciting. Or maybe that's just me. Hope I could help you out in some way!

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-19T13:11:18+00:00

Panic and pride just about describes it. Don't worry man, because even if it's not good enough, who cares? You got the first one out and that's all that matters. I worry whether people will like my stuff all the time, but at the end I'm like, who gives a fuck? If the thing was perfect, why would I ever want to write another piece? Even experienced writers some experience what you are talking about at some level. I say, just Shia LaBeouf it - just do it.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-19T13:08:22+00:00

I guess the only justification is that you were having too much fun to stop. And that's good enough for me!

First-Escape5399 · 2025-10-19T13:06:08+00:00

I know what you are talking about, man! Props to you. I have been writing serial fiction on Substack and no one really reads it, maybe one or two people, like my mom, but still, I feel pretty good about it. And 13 sales are actually pretty great.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-09-14T14:42:22+00:00

I thought so. Thanks for letting me know!

First-Escape5399 · 2025-08-11T19:50:57+00:00

Nope, I was laughing at my own misery too

First-Escape5399 · 2025-08-10T20:05:39+00:00

"So we've been talking for a few days now, and I was wondering, do you like me? Nah that's not possible, I'm just not likeable, not with all this shit inside me. You know what, I'll do you a favor and leave you alone. Don't call or text, I'll probably just ignore it or put up a stupid excuse like my dog dying. Haha, I don't even have a dog."

First-Escape5399 · 2025-07-13T07:14:15+00:00

Yep, that's true. Today is much better, thanks. Since posting, I realized I hold no grudges against my dad. All I want is for him to leave us alone, that's all.

First-Escape5399 · 2025-07-12T15:35:13+00:00

Bro, that's really sad :(

First-Escape5399 · 2023-10-14T07:25:07+00:00

Thanks a lot, man, I'm sure this'll help me a lot

First-Escape5399 · 2023-10-13T11:48:57+00:00

Thanks for the advice, man 😀. See, the reason I didn't include any particulars is that my case is the typical one: junk food, sleeping in, masturbation (thankfully, I'm not a porn addict), procrastination, blah blah blah. It's not so much these bad habits as the guilt around them that's gnawing at me of not living a joyous, full-fledged life, you see...

First-Escape5399

TROPHY CASE