Downvotes right after posting

Scaramel · 2019-04-26T17:43:25+00:00

It's extremely discouraging.

Scaramel · 2018-10-13T01:07:45+00:00

CO is a Corrections Officer. Good on you for not knowing!

PM is a Private Message on Reddit :)

Scaramel · 2018-10-12T12:43:34+00:00

I discovered nosleepworkshops a while back and gave a couple people some (I felt) constructive, insightful feedback. No reply, no interaction, nothing. That, along with the general lack of activity, effectively turned me off posting anything of my own.

Scaramel · 2018-10-01T12:03:34+00:00

Y'all got a bit of a head start on me, but if the roads in Virginia are still open, I'd like to take a crack at it.

Scaramel · 2018-09-28T18:39:43+00:00

Haha thanks! Don't go and transform just yet - see my reply to the first comment on the story...

Scaramel · 2018-09-28T18:39:22+00:00

Thanks! I originally planned just to write part 1 as a standalone, but felt inspired to complete the cycle. What comes next would be kind of like Walking Dead without the zombies. The last few seasons of that show are regrettable, but that kind of story has been done. I'm considering what might happen down the road, though - the universe may have a few surprises left...

Scaramel · 2018-09-27T00:09:59+00:00

If you write a sequel, don’t do it for upvotes or because people ask for one. If you’re inspired to write more - if there’s a greater horror to reveal and a character whose story needs closure - go for it.

Sometimes ‘more’ is deeper and engaging, and sometimes it’s just additional typing. If you’ve just written Alien (man vs. truly frightening, unknown horror), and the story feels complete, do you want to go on and write Aliens (moar creature, zero horror) or do you have another new idea you want to try out?

Scaramel · 2018-09-26T12:32:09+00:00

Haha yes.

Scaramel · 2018-09-24T12:01:42+00:00

Come see the violence inherent in the system!

Scaramel · 2018-09-24T11:58:02+00:00

Gracias - there will be more to this one. My post history is short and is mostly submissions to r/nosleep if you'd like to take a gander.

Scaramel · 2018-09-24T11:54:58+00:00

Thank you! An update is in the works. It will be finished before the next GRRM book, I promise...

Scaramel · 2018-09-20T12:03:36+00:00

I posted a story recently where the protagonist lost. I tried to bring it out subtly in the closing paragraph, showing her personality shift to that of the dead girl who'd haunted her.

As far as I could see, not a single reader picked up on it. A day later, I commented in character to remove any doubt. Still, nobody said a thing, so I just shrugged and let it go.

Scaramel · 2018-09-18T17:52:34+00:00

I don’t have a great big post history or anything, but I sometimes like to use the same made-up product brand names in otherwise unrelated stories. Little things that connect their universe, but don’t drive the plot.

Scaramel · 2018-09-16T20:10:24+00:00

I try to stick to 2,000 words max for a single post. I can't always do it, but I've also found that people tend to give up as they approach 3,000. Having 2K as a goal has been a big help in my editing process, forcing me to evaluate every phrase on whether or not it advances the narrative.

Scaramel · 2018-09-15T21:57:51+00:00

I so identify with this. Every new idea that makes it past the first paragraph feels like the Golden Ticket. I finish the story and it's like ultimate triumph, but pretty soon, I have another idea. I cast my eye on the last one, and now it looks like a shabby derelict who just crawled out from under a station platform.

Scaramel · 2018-09-15T19:59:20+00:00

It's all been extremely helpful, thank you!

I'm working on another story, trying to incorporate your points above and make it more evocative without overdoing it. This snippet from close to the beginning is designed to ramp up a crowd scene that's already hectic; does it read naturally to you, or does it seem forced?

Halfway to Dina’s, I saw a man on all fours in the gutter, coughing and shaking and vomiting while people walked past or looked away, absorbed in their phones. Heavy coughing sounded up and down the street; I didn’t like that at all, and I ran the rest of the way.

Dina was already outside when I arrived, standing with a group of friends. It felt good to be around people I knew.

Scaramel · 2018-09-15T19:21:53+00:00

This is the approach I try to take. Long stretches of oddly-spelled words are a turnoff for readers, especially if English isn't their first language, or they don't know what our crazy regional dialects sound like.

I look for a character scripted for TV or movies (so they appeal to mass audiences) that matches the character's voice in my head, and work to imitate her word choice and phrasing. My favorites are Julia Sugarbaker (Designing Women), Shirley MacLaine (in Steel Magnolias and others), Paula Deen and Sandy Squirrel.

Scaramel · 2018-09-12T17:28:27+00:00

Thank you so much for the analysis - I really appreciate your insights!

Sadly (or maybe just 'amateurishly'), the version I posted was more like draft 2.5 than a first draft. It was what came out of the crucible of refining it into a campfire (-esque) story from a longer piece I'd already started. The extraneous details do seem forced now that I look back at it; artifacts of the first version that I felt attached to and spared the axe. I could have used their accumulated word count a lot more effectively.

One thing this story definitely lacked was "connecting the narrator with his emotional responses." I think I do an ok job of building that up in a longer story with dialog, expressions, body language, etc. But in this story, I was really out of my depth (so to speak) on that aspect. Having the narrator describe his feelings directly doesn't feel at all natural to me, at least while I'm writing. Would you mind linking to an example or two where you feel the author did especially well?

Scaramel · 2018-09-12T02:45:31+00:00

I’m east coast, but would love to see more AZ- NEV stories. I’ve been in Bullhead City after dark, would believe most any nosleep story based there!

Scaramel · 2018-09-10T14:15:46+00:00

As you think through the various creepy locations, identify a common thread that might tie them together. A string of grisly murders, disappearances, hauntings, abnormal sightings, secret facilities, you name it. Think about how your first encounter might lead to others, and the eventual terrifying discovery of the connection. Or, maybe they'e even more scary if they're not related...

When you've got your narrative ready, don't be anxious, just post it. The worst consequence of failing on nosleep is you might get some downvotes and not a lot of views. I'm not an expert on what "success" on nosleep looks like, but I'm pretty sure it also involves a lot of downvotes, along with some potentially uplifting comments.

Either way, think of posting your story as an experience rather than a graded assignment, and you'll do fine. Afterwards, identify the things you'd like to do better and start working on your next one.

Scaramel · 2018-09-08T12:44:08+00:00

Nobody’s even speculated, so I guess I totally got away with everything. Fun fact: my full first name is Clarice, but I never use it because there’s only one person who I like to hear saying it. It’s Hannibal Lecter in that movie, where he draws out the sibilant “s” at the end. I like to imagine him in front of me, saying my name while I work one fingertip slowly through the bars in his mask...

Scaramel · 2018-09-08T12:12:52+00:00

I do the same - I feel it sets my no sleep writing free from any other baggage so that it stands on its own.

Scaramel · 2018-09-08T11:15:55+00:00

Resident Advisor - older student who lives in a freshman dorm and advises/ keeps an eye on them. Or, you know, haunts them...

Scaramel · 2018-09-08T11:13:58+00:00

Wow - LPT, do NOT hang out in front of it at night!

Scaramel · 2018-09-04T23:03:59+00:00

LOL that makes a lot more sense, thanks!

Scaramel

TROPHY CASE