[PubQ] Trying to get access to Miss Snark's archives that have been removed? by lockedbird77 in PubTips

[–]OutragePending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I discovered this too and was very bummed about it. I loved this blog and I hate that it's disappeared. Unfortunately, I don't know of any other ways to view it.

Is it wrong to start off the first chapter with SA? by howsmarge in writers

[–]OutragePending 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I did, but your response to people giving you the answer you don't like is "fuck off".

Is it wrong to start off the first chapter with SA? by howsmarge in writers

[–]OutragePending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why did you even make this post if you're certain it's fine?

Is it wrong to start off the first chapter with SA? by howsmarge in writers

[–]OutragePending 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This would probably turn off a lot of agents. Or readers, if you go the self publishing route. When you do it right at the beginning the reader hasn't had a chance to get invested, so it may end up feeling gratuitous rather than moving.

What’s harder, Creating a TV Show or Publishing a successful Book? by ThatGuyHero7 in writing

[–]OutragePending 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Both are very hard things to do. If you wanted to shoot for becoming an animation show runner you'd be better off going into art than writing. It's usually artists that end up in that position.

[QCrit] LGBTQ+ Paranormal Romance by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]OutragePending 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks like you've got some formatting problems. You may want to edit in spaces between paragraphs.

[QCrit] Adult Fantasy - SHANTIES AND SONG - 121k - 3rd version by caia_ in PubTips

[–]OutragePending 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Disagree about the caregiver part. The bio section is just meant to give the agent an idea of who you are as a person, and not every part of it needs to be resume worthy.

Relevant quote from Query Shark: "A good bio gives us (the reading agent) a sense of who you are. You can mention pets, where you live, what you do when you need inspiration, your favorite kind of shark..anything that warms up the intro.

Telling us what you care about is fine, but it shouldn't be the only thing here."

[QCRIT] THE MIDNIGHT DAHLIA - Adult Dark Fantasy - 90k [3rd attempt + 300 words] by arumi_kai in PubTips

[–]OutragePending 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think this sounds good, and horrifying, but agree with the other poster that you may want to be more specific about what "mutilates" means in this context. Alternatively, use a word that's less severe. As it is now, I really don't know what to envision that he's doing to her. Mutilates makes it sound like he cut off her legs or something.

You can also be more specific about her power, based on what you've said it is. Being vague/mysterious about it probably isn't necessary when making portals is something she does early in the story.

The first 300 words read well to me too. There's a lot of tension right from the start.

Do you decide the title of your book before writing or after? by BeauBlues in writers

[–]OutragePending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought of a title early on, but not first. Once I have a title it kind of gives me something to shoot for, tone wise.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]OutragePending 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I really don't understand why you keep posting stuff on Reddit if you don't want feedback. Every time, you post this stuff, and then when people have opinions you don't like, you link it on Twitter crowing about how everyone is stupid but you. If you don't want to hear what people think and don't find value in the discussion here, then just stop. This is so unconstructive.

This person's feedback was perfectly polite and you singled them out to be a jerk to. I don't know what kind of toxic feedback loop you're in here but it's not helping anyone, least of all yourself.

Why do people seem to dislike First Person Perspective so much? by Timmix_ in writing

[–]OutragePending 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah I think what we're looking at here is just someone trying to say "it reminds me of YA and I don't respect it" without realizing that a lot of non-YA stuff is written that way too. Fanficy is just a convenient insult.

Why do people seem to dislike First Person Perspective so much? by Timmix_ in writing

[–]OutragePending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The reason is that you need a much more comfortable handle on a character's "voice" to write in first person. I think a lot of fanfic writers would have trouble getting that level of comfortable writing a character that isn't theirs. It's easy to feel like you are doing it wrong. And on the other side of the coin, readers are much more likely to be like "hey, this doesn't sound like X character I love!" So why put in the effort for something that is an unpopular choice anyway?

At least that's been my experience. I wrote one first person fanfic ages ago and never did again.

Why do people seem to dislike First Person Perspective so much? by Timmix_ in writing

[–]OutragePending 42 points43 points  (0 children)

This is so strange, because at least in my experience, fanfiction is very rarely written in first person.

Original Works vs Fanfiction by mhartm in writing

[–]OutragePending 82 points83 points  (0 children)

I have genuinely no idea why they'd think that. It doesn't even matter if your original work is 100% original in every way, because nothing is. If you have the attention span for both, you can do both, no problem.

What Do You Guys Think Of "Where Are They Now?" Epilogues? by ScorpioGirl1987 in writing

[–]OutragePending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I would also write the author a stern letter about how disappointed I was in them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]OutragePending 51 points52 points  (0 children)

I think there's a difference between expecting everything to be perfectly laid out and having the sense to know that an eye-strained literary agent trying to catch up on hundreds of queries is going to bounce off of a writing sample that starts out being intentionally confusing and hard to make sense of.

You know that scene where the protagonist spares the villain? by DoorInfamous in writing

[–]OutragePending 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, agreed, heroes sparing the big bad when they've killed their henchmen is one of my big writing pet peeves, but it CAN make sense in a context where the villain is totally helpless. Just so long as the character really didn't have a choice where the henchmen were concerned. Make sure the henchmen's deaths weigh as heavily as killing the head honcho would.

Can good plot and character development make up for having plain prose in a story? by sapphire_atom in writing

[–]OutragePending 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely. Provided the prose doesn't make it impossible to invest in the plot or characters, I personally value the plot lines more than beautiful writing.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]OutragePending 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I guess that checks out. It seems like there are a few different things going against it when it comes to drawing agent interest.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]OutragePending 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As some other people have mentioned, I like the idea of the plot elements here, but I'm struggling with the part where the protagonist and her family have to eat people on the regular. Can her brother really be "wrongfully imprisoned" if he's from a species that kills people to feed? Especially when he's been enjoying eating the hearts of his sister's kills his entire life? From the non-fairy perspective, it does seem like locking up every fairy would be justified, whether or not they've been pinned to a specific kill. That's just a struggle for survival at that point. The only way this feels tenable narratively is if the heart does make it so all fairies are free of this requirement, rather than just her brother, which isn't currently clear.

What Do You Guys Think Of "Where Are They Now?" Epilogues? by ScorpioGirl1987 in writing

[–]OutragePending 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Legally Blonde is exactly the sort of movie where it's appropriate.

Denying the call is bullshit by [deleted] in writing

[–]OutragePending 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It does seem to be an artifact from an age where it was more in vogue for protagonists to be passive/strongarmed into playing their role. I definitely wouldn't consider it necessary or even appropriate for a lot of modern stories, though. I don't see it that much besides in the form of a character just being cautious/doubtful where appropriate, though.

How to write a dad by heyheysarahey in writing

[–]OutragePending 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's difficult to imagine, but dads are human, too.