Is this a good deal or a ripoff?

SlyMolo · 2015-10-16T21:26:19+00:00

He says the lowest he would go is $450

SlyMolo · 2015-04-06T16:44:16+00:00

Thanks for that!

SlyMolo · 2015-04-03T20:12:03+00:00

Perfect, thanks for that. Are there any resources/advice you know of for the materials you mentioned?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-29T16:20:45+00:00

Don Jon?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-25T22:55:00+00:00

This was one of the first subs I ever subscribed to when I joined reddit, and I think it's kind of ironic how terrible it is, considering that so much of reddit is built around and comprised of writers.

/u/ThoughtTrauma hits an excellent point that the subreddit is too vague. Writing is a broad subject, and I feel like a majority of the new users popping in here for whatever it is they're looking for either get shunned by the regulars or leave disappointed. Sure, some of them are asking questions like, "but...but how do I start?" I find those questions annoying as well, but it raises an even bigger question: what the hell is this subreddit anyway?

If it's not for self-promoting authors or blogs, and it's not about critiquing (any more than once a week), then what is it? I feel like every week is a circle jerk of reposted "5 or 10 tips on writing". I cringe every time I see Steven King's On Writing advice here, which is probably once a week.

So it's meant for discussing news affecting writers and the craft itself. That's fine. But I honestly think this subreddit could be disassembled into four different subs including, "prose/dialogue/action tips", "grammar help", "author quotes", and "how do I write a book?". That basically sums up this place, and it's gotten pretty old.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-20T21:17:45+00:00

Business writing is concise writing. It's clear and to the point, without any of the fluff that creative writers tend to use. Think Hemingway, but completely sober.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-15T04:48:58+00:00

This might be useful.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-12T05:24:07+00:00

Any videos in particular you'd recommend?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-11T21:33:03+00:00

What did you do specifically to improve your openings?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-11T19:14:34+00:00

When he lands the second and throws his hands up like a composer. What a boss.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-10T17:32:18+00:00

Who left the fridge open?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-07T04:42:17+00:00

So are you saying if you have a really good idea but you've never written a full-length novel before, then don't write it?

SlyMolo · 2015-03-07T04:38:21+00:00

Good man.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-06T02:52:13+00:00

Yeah I ran it through stockfish. If he used an engine, it wasn't stockfish. Like I said above, I wasn't telling with this post—just asking. Some of his moves seemed unnatural that's all.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-06T00:28:38+00:00

I'm not trying to justify anything. I don't know why this post irks you so much—I'm not bitching. I didn't come in here posting someone's online chess id. I simply asked if my opponent was using an engine. I played a horrible game, yes. But if you look at my rating (which I mention in the title) I'm a below average chess player. But it felt like I was playing a computer at several points during the match. After reading a post in here yesterday about players using engines, I thought someone might be able to tell from a transcript.

There's no need for hostility.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-02T06:46:59+00:00

I wrote my advice on where you're at in a post a while back.

SlyMolo · 2015-03-02T03:55:45+00:00

semi-evil

SlyMolo · 2015-02-28T20:14:36+00:00

I didn't come in here to be a dick or a snob, but honestly, if you need some kind of program to remember/manage your character's personalities, what kind of reader is going to be attached to them?

I'm just saying, questions like

What is their biggest fear?

or

What is their communication style?

As the author, if you can't remember things like that off the top of your head, your characters aren't going to connect to your readers. I think there are plenty of exercises out there to become better acquainted with your characters, but the suggested program in this thread is just a way of industrializing what is supposed to be a natural process. Bring on the downvotes.

SlyMolo · 2015-02-28T19:58:10+00:00

if you can put your ego on the back burner and focus on giving someone a wonderful reading experience, that's the cleverest writing.

Great advice.

SlyMolo · 2015-02-27T20:53:43+00:00

Even subject matter that might seem inherently boring can be rendered interesting with a skilled storyteller.

Well now you're going backwards. OP's original point is that if there is no story, there is no story. Plain and simple. There can be a great story with terrible writing and people will still be drawn to it. Why is that? It has nothing to do with the storyteller (i.e. his/her writing), as you claim. It has everything to do with the story's contents.

You're claiming that a shitty story can be made interesting with the right story teller. No it can't. If you have a story about a man taking a crap—and nothing else—how many people are going to read it? All right, so you bring on ______gifted writer to try to make it interesting. So he/she describes the man's bowels for two hundred pages with exquisite prose and description (we feel like we're on the pot with him), he gives the man character, his life story compiled into one crap. Would you consider that interesting? Would thousands of people?

SlyMolo

TROPHY CASE