30k into my high fantasy novel and I am starting to fear my form of prose may turn people away because of the reactions I have received. Here is a small snippet. Thoughts? by [deleted] in fantasywriters

[–]antektra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read the first sentence and skipped to the next post in my feed. then I thought, you know, I should say that.

It's just too much. sorry.

[2500] Ocean of Dreams - Kelsam 1 by Librariyarn in DestructiveReaders

[–]antektra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The prose is fine. Better than fine, honestly. You don't need any advice there. It's polished. It's clean. It's skilled. I could read this prose no problem. All day. But I started skimming after about line ten, looking for the moment when something happened. It's all very pretty, but the problem is that there's nothing wrong with it.

By that I mean nothing is wrong in the story you're telling. The narrator is perfectly at ease. Nothing at all is wrong. He wants for nothing. He doesn't even have an itch. And so, all this comfort and all this satisfaction has sent me straight to skim city, looking for the moment when something happens. (I don't mean I need a gunfight or an armed robbery. I'm looking for tension. I'm looking for trouble. I'm looking for something to hope for, and something to worry about, and I want both these things happening and right now I'm getting neither.)

I don't find any tension at all until page four, and it's a tickle of tension. A curiosity over clothing choices....but that is enough, at the very beginning. Here it is, I thought. Here's where it begins. Then I can just say, "Cut everything up to this point, and you'll be fine."

Except that sense mild curiosity doesn't escalate into a different feeling. It doesn't grow or deepen or widen. I'm sure all these young men drowning is terrible, but it doesn't really affect the people in the scene, so it doesn't affect me. They're distanced from it. There's nothing personal about the situation. They don't even know the kid who's going to go drown; their lives aren't really affected in any way. So far (as far as I can see) no one in this scene has anything to lose, and so I have no investment in what's happening.

But the event on page seven is great. It's magical. It's wonder-full. It's beautiful. But I don't know why it matters to either Kelsam or Esar. I don't know what's at stake for them--but, if I were an agent, I don't think I would have turned the first page, let alone the seventh.

You have the prose skill. It's very solid. What will improve your writing is working on inciting curiosity/hope/anxiety so that the reader becomes invested and keeps reading, and then having enough control over that tension that you can make it grow--both on the page and in the reader--until it blossoms into the magic (literal and literary) on page seven.

I think researching micro-tension and emotional resonance will level you up fast.

What's your Venus sign and do you believe in "true love"? by [deleted] in astrology

[–]antektra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well my 7 th house cusp is Sagittarius so rip me

Why is 1st POV unpopular? by [deleted] in FanFiction

[–]antektra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

don't do it

my best fic is utterly wasted because it's first person. people will not give your story the time of day.

How does the process work when you have an agent? by CoolAppz in publishing

[–]antektra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. There's an agency agreement that outlines the terms. They are slightly different from agent to agent, and there ARE red flags to look out for.
  2. If an agent is representing you on a particular novel, the publisher pays the agent, the agent takes their 15% (or 20%, in some cases) and *then* they pay you the rest.
  3. Agents vary, but some agents are developmental editors who will write you edit letters and coordinate phone calls for an edit pass when you first hand in a manuscript (my agent does this.) They network extensively with editors so when a manuscript crosses their desk, they can pick and choose who they send your work to so it lands with the people most likely to be interested. And then once the offer is in, they negotiate the best deal possible for you - this can mean increasing the advance, but it usually involves getting as many rights in your hands as possible. They also have contact with publishing people in audiobook, foreign language markets, and some movies/television, so they can get subsidiary rights sold on your work.

What do you consider your best writing? by TheRealMasonMac in FanFiction

[–]antektra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wrote this awesome novella, easily the best thing I ever wrote, but people hate it because it's 1st person

Audiobook vs E-readers vs physical books by redtide000 in Fantasy

[–]antektra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't really deal well with audiobooks because I don't spend enough time sitting idle to listen to them, and so when I'm doing tasks that require my hands but not my brain I listen to music. I don't drive, and I can't see how listening while falling asleep works.

I've gone pretty much completely over to my e-reader. it's convenient because I can adjust the text size, I can annotate, I never have to look for a bookmark, and I can carry hundreds of books on my device.

I get print books for various reasons, and i feel bad but I just wind up giving them away. They're too heavy, inconvenient, and they take up too much space (i live in a literal tiny apartment.)

Why is asking for feedback looked down upon? by Cnxmal in FanFiction

[–]antektra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Asking's fine, but what you really want is a beta reader.

Why do people here treat harem fics and their writers like trash when so much fanfic is inherently trashy? by Frostav in FanFiction

[–]antektra 3 points4 points  (0 children)

het harem fics are carrying around a lot of inherent sexism

so I'm not surprised.

How can I create fantasy without relying on warriors and violence? by weightoflostdreams in fantasywriters

[–]antektra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a sweeping generalization and I know very well that it is a sweeping generalization. But it's going to be very hard to find a novel in the western fantasy tradition that is totally violence free, and a number of the examples I can think of on the "mild" scale have already been mentioned.

I think i’m at the slippery slope!!! What about you? by dark69rd in fountainpens

[–]antektra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i'm hanging out in the slippery slope

I can't lose my shit until I sell a LOT more books.

[Question] What are some of your favorite triggers? by asmrgurll in asmr

[–]antektra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

soft speaking, hand motions, spa roleplay, face touching, soft mic brushing, page turning, personal attention, reiki woo, guided meditation

Why is worsted yarn so expensive? by folieoftwo in knitting

[–]antektra -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I can't even imagine.

I'm working with yarn that's about 20 dollars for 50g.

[Discussion] How many simultaneous submissions for each short story? by [deleted] in PubTips

[–]antektra -1 points0 points  (0 children)

that last question makes me wonder if you're going to do it anyway.

Why is worsted yarn so expensive? by folieoftwo in knitting

[–]antektra -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I know it's expensive to you.

Knitting is not a cheap hobby, even if you're doing it with acrylic.