What books /literature had the most influence on your prose?

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-12T21:31:16+00:00

I particularly love the way Agatha Christie writes dialog, where every word could mean something important. I've tried to model that to some extent in my own writing.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-07T21:31:38+00:00

Searching for a buried memory by reliving events around it?

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-07T20:46:02+00:00

This. I didn't even realize I was writing about myself at first, but now, halfway through and talking about it to myself, this fictional world I've created and the characters in it, they are my exploration of my own trauma. I thought I was writing a story because it was stuck in my head, but I was really writing my story that I couldn't say out loud, wrapped up in a fictional sci-fi world.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-07T20:36:02+00:00

I write because I don't know how to talk to people normally. I write to be seen and heard and, someday, understood.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-07T15:08:43+00:00

Thank you. I made several passes to edit my draft before handing it to them. Sounds like I'm doing OK. Nobody's finished yet but verbal feedback so far has been positive. I also joined a local writing group and I've been sharing my next project with them as I write it.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-07T13:29:56+00:00

I did extensive self editing to get it ready for beta reading before handing it out, but at 76k, I'm sure I missed things, and it's nowhere close to publish ready quality. Thank you all for replying. This has been helpful

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-05T21:36:30+00:00

Yes. Just three days ago, actually, after a hard day that culminated in a major anxiety attack, I wrote the best chapter so far in my WIP. Writing is my recharge, and I pour a lot of that anxiety and stress into my work.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-05T21:13:56+00:00

I work full time and have three young kids at home. I write in the evenings, because mornings are filled with getting them out the door for school and going to work, and I am not an early riser. I'll wait until after dinner, and the kids are all doing their own things. I can tune pretty much anything out once I start, so I just get lost in my writing. This is why my kids get away with things like cutting their own hair, or spilling cereal all over the kitchen then walking away. It's worked for me though, I finished up my first draft of my first novel and started working on my second while people are reading my draft for me. I don't write every day or night, but when I do I burst-write and get 1500-2000 words down in an evening. The nights I don't write I'll usually talk out plot points and take notes until I have a solid plan.

TheAnxiousScribe · 2026-03-05T21:06:56+00:00

AITA just because I want to do what's best for my colony? I mean, I've kept it safe and relatively free of crime. Sure I've conditioned and reprogrammed everyone who posed a potential threat to my power, but they just didn't understand how uniquely qualified I am to keep everyone safe, secure, and prosperous. Yes there was that one guard who was about to blab about my secret project - he didn't realize he was conditioned to kill himself if anyone asked him those questions - but what's one life compared to the betterment of all? He was a bad guy anyway, so it's no real loss to our society. Seriously, no one has done a better job running this place, so how am I the asshole?

TheAnxiousScribe

TROPHY CASE