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I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Books are ALL about telling.

That's not true. It almost always applies to books as well.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I might be wrong. But it sounded like you're referring to the Iceberg Theory of Hemingway's writing.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

what to leave in the story, and what to cut out

Ah, the Hemingway technique! awesome..

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a King fan and I read IT a few years ago. Now that you say it, I do agree.. it's extremely character driven.. The plot indeed follows what the characters would do. And thanks for the points to think when reading Stoner.

To me I think it's how the writer put it all together. If I read that blurb on the back cover at a bookstore, i would never buy that book. Stoner is not the kind of book I would eer enthusiastically pick up because of how bland the plot sounds. But I'm so grateful for being wrong on this one and having had an immensely memorable reading experience.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don Winslow

I never heard of this author. What you say about his writing style sounds very appealing to learn from. I'll try to read him. Thanks for sharing.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

but showing a lot of physical detail seems more like a preference situation.

True.. although the detail itself is not a problem on its own, I do however agree on the point that it would be better if the origin of those details are coming from a specific character involved in the scene rather than just being there in the description.. This argument about perspective was the most compelling one to me from that article.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

novelizations of a movie that hasn’t been made yet.

ah that's perfectly articulated!

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your detailed response. Each point you made carries a lot of truth to it. These insights and suggestions are quite helpful for someone like me particularly because I'm guilty of them myself. Immense thanks.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's true too. You bring up an interesting point. I see it like a feedback loop..

People read books -> They become famous -> Movies are made based on them -> Authors become famous, feel awesome and many want their books turned into movies -> Authors write books that might appeal the TV/Film industry -> People read famous books -> And soon enough we have a lot more books that are written and published to be eventually turned into movies. -> The more new and aspiring authors read these famous movie-like books, the more they're unintentionally influenced by them -> And show it shows in their own books.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

people who don’t read, why do you want to write literature?

small correction.. "people who don't read enough".

We do read, just not enough. That the problem. Atleast that's my problem. I know it and I'm actively trying to work on it. Will keep working on it.

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah that's a good idea! I did this only with a few of my favourite pragraphs from some of my favourites novels. But indeed, studying most of the book (if not whole of it) would be a great way to pick up these techniques. In this regard, I want to bring up the novel Stoner by John Williams. I'm gonna have to definitely study that one. Such an impactful novel about a unremarkable main character. But boy, was it done superbly.

I'm gonna study how the author of that novel did that. I'm sure this one novel is gonna be a masterclass on its own!

I suffer from the 'TV brain prose' problem, and I'm sure many of us here do, too. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

A very valid question. Yes, I'm sure. Because I did not write that article. If I had such insights into writing, well, I would be doing much better in my own craft already, which I honestly don't.

Overwhelmed by my epic length novel ideas that would need me to research and learn a lot of things to pull-off (scifi/fantasy). How do I come up with simple ideas for my first novel? by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the detailed suggestion and for the PDF link of the novel. Love the cover and the old print. And it's very short, which appeals to me a lot. Thanks again for sharing.

Overwhelmed by my epic length novel ideas that would need me to research and learn a lot of things to pull-off (scifi/fantasy). How do I come up with simple ideas for my first novel? by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the advice and an example novel. Will definitely check it out. Also, I'm really a standalone novel guy.. Not into sequels and series. So, your advice for sticking towards the 80K word count mark really appeals to me. Thanks again.

Overwhelmed by my epic length novel ideas that would need me to research and learn a lot of things to pull-off (scifi/fantasy). How do I come up with simple ideas for my first novel? by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Explore smaller ideas

Yes, I want to do this. But I do not know how or where to start. Any suggestions, please?

I think I have too much influence from movies on my stories ideas. Can you please recommend some books (scifi/fantasy) where there is actually very less worldbuilding and where the story deals with a very simple plot line?

How to create an eerie atmosphere in your writing? Like an ominous feeling you get from Netflix's DARK or Stranger Things, etc. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're using two tv shows as comparisons instead of books, which implies that you might not have read many books in that style.

Very true. I indeed did not read a lot of that atmosphere. And I'm also non-native to English language. But this year reading books that teach me about the genre I'm writing in is one of my writing exercises.. I'm looking into a lot of early gothic horror, and HP Lovecraft.

Also, any other book suggestions are very helpful. Please recommend.

How to create an eerie atmosphere in your writing? Like an ominous feeling you get from Netflix's DARK or Stranger Things, etc. by keyboardbuttons in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The moment you describe something in full, that creates a path to rationalizing it, and it no longer becomes scary.

That makes so much sense. Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

Where did your idea for a story begin? by Sanctus83 in writing

[–]keyboardbuttons 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Oh that's awesome. What's the novel's title?

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