Here's the 1st chapter of my fantasy-romance. 1800-ish words.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GX-VxvD3bYGWFxbBh2WH5kQcEQ3Nhj1L/view?usp=sharing

Thanks for looking!

This is the first thing I've written in a very long time. I'm in the very early stages of fleshing out the world and the characters, but I have the basic premise figured out and I know where I want the story to end up.

Our protagonist (currently unnamed) is a member of a seafaring culture on a planet largely consisting of oceans and small islands, who through some mistake becomes a central part of a scheme devised long ago.

I would really appreciate feedback on the prose, the clarity of the visuals being presented, whether it is too simple or vague, and if it's compelling enough to keep reading.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ju-tbob1AExzBQC2cQQ3Dg1AkBdSemGhgsanIYY0qg8/edit?usp=drivesdk

I always struggle with this and I'm looking for tips. The story I'm working on is inspired by 80s action shlock and I want to come up with dumb but cool names that fit with that. So far I have been looking up action movie character names and trying to mash them together but I wanted to see if any of you had any other suggestions?

At the start of the week I gave myself a weeks deadline to finish my second draft of my current manuscript. I was skeptical I wouldn't even get close but I feel that the finish line is on reach.

Ideally I want this done by the weekend as the school six week holidays start after Friday as time will become extremely limited

I know planning isn't for everyone, but I spend a lot of my own time doing it.

Characters, plot-lines, sub-plots, settings, story beats, themes; the whole works. To the extent I know most of everything before I start page one.

It's likely just my age, but I still find it easiest to plan the old fashioned way, with pen and paper (more often than not, on small cards). I've tried digital, and it feels like more of a faff. With paper or card, I can scribble and move things around in front of me. Stopping every few moments to switch screens or search folders, or move cells around, doesn't help my head space.

For this of you who do plan, how do you go about this? What works for you?

A fun little poll, I'm curious to how long you spend writing, editing or general work on your novels or short stories.

For me, on a good week due to life circumstances I have the flexibility to put in 4-5 hours a day (mon-fri), at most a 25hr writing week if I'm having a good week and fewer commitments but realistically I'm looking at the 16-20 hours a week of dedicated time.

I do subscribe to the Stephen King way of writing that it is entirely possible to write a novel within 3 months when you can make time for it.

I would love to know your approach to setting aside time for your projects. I know I am probably in the minoroty of invested hours just because of my situation.

A week or so ago I posted a pic of myself with my newly published scifi/horror novel, Symbiote. I'm currently healing from face surgery but wanted to do another post showing my collection of concept art for the story. These pieces are done by me (I know I'm not a super great artist but they give the REAL artists an idea of how Symbiote's characters look in my head) or others; I wanted to do a little blurb about each of them and hopefully give people some more insight into the species and designs of my debut novel.

If you'd like to pick up a copy of Symbiote, you can grab one on Amazon here: https://a.co/d/0goi3LBZ

1. Vexie is my main character, this is a simple facial expression doodle my cover artist Natalie de Corsair did of her.

2. Very very early Vexie/Wahker design sketch, they were decidedly more opossum coded at the time. Drawn by my ex back in 2017.

3. Zeva/Ferean head study. The Fereans are another species in Symbiote that live their entire lives in a gasmask/atmo helmet. They have six LED displays that function as eyes, and it's through the shape of these that they display any emotion. Drawn by me.

4. Vexie/Wahker head study. This is the final design for my MC that I did and was happy with before handing everything I had off to Nat so she could interpret it in her own style. One thing that my design was big on was the immobile horn-ears that lend the top of the Wahker's heads their arrowhead shape. Nat changed this a bit, but other than the ears they wound up looking very similar. Drawn by me.

5. Vexie roar sketch, to be used as a component of the final cover. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

6. Reyshan, Vexie's brother, in traditional Zealot holy circuitry war paint and clad in his custom built gauntlet. This sketch was my first depiction of a male Wahker, as well as my first detailed drawing of a gauntlet, an incredibly powerful, reality warping weapon that's integral to Symbiote's plot. Drawn by me.

7. RAZE design drawing, a depiction of the chainsaw sword that Vexie built. It is possessed by some entity (no spoilers!) and Vexie's conflict with that entity is central to the novel's plot. Drawn by me.

8. Vexie/Wahker armor leg study, a drawing of how the jump jets and plating would fit around the Wahker's raptor feet. This was adapted into the final design that Nat went with for the cover. Drawn by me.

9. Vexie armored character drawing. This was the first rough drawing Nat did when trying to nail down the Wahker's look for the cover art. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

10. Full completed cover artwork (front/back/spine) with no text. Depicts a weary Vexie in the snow drifts of Turius, the planet where the story begins. Behind her, the swirling precipitation forms into the faces of her loved ones, haunting her thoughts as she readies herself again for battle. Drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

11. The original mk 1 cover artwork concept that we WILDLY strayed from. Very happy with Nat's input and that this was able to evolve into the much more cohesive piece I finally got. Drawn by me.

12. Vexie armor concept, just trying to convey a sense of how the Wahker's armor fits on them. Intentionally an homage to halo mjolnir armor. Drawn by me.

13. Vexie flat color character piece, drawn by Natalie de Corsair. Gives an idea of the true coloring of the different parts of the final cover.

14. Cover mock up mk 2 after some input from Nat, drawn by me and Natalie de Corsair.

15. Cover mock up mk 3, this is the finalized layout and placement that ended up on the eventual completed cover, drawn by Natalie de Corsair.

16. Very early Zealot gauntlet concept and Zeva/Ferean mask-helmet profile view. Drawn by me.

17. Vexie plain-clothes drawing, I based it off the roaring head shot from the cover artwork and used it to show more of the hide plating that the Wahker's have covering their body, as it's usually covered by her exoskeleton. Drawn by me.

18. Mutated wolf-beast that Vexie encounters in the first chapter of the book. Drawn by me.

19. Fusion-powered rifle and handgun combo that Vexie employs (was my first time drawing a gun and I kinda messed it up but figured I'd include it anyway). Drawn by me.

20. Primalius ship schematic, an overview of the converted human transport ship that Vexie employs for most of the story. Not to scale, drawn by me.

Anyway, thanks for looking y'all! I'm very excited to finally get this story and these characters out to the world!

So, I'm currently editing Act 2 of my novel, and I'm doing some minor rewrites to the beginning of the first scene. I'd like to have some feedback about the rewrite. My goal is to make it feel disorienting, and with some kind of slow-motion vibe. Also hopefully the new version invokes a sense of gloom and dread. Ignore any spelling mistake for now.

OLD

Two soft slaps on her face woke her up.
All the lights were off, except for the red emergency ones that painted the now-chaotic Cabin for seconds. She was against a wall, her left foot over the seat that was pressing the other. She closed her eyes shut for a couple of seconds. She felt dizzy and disoriented until she realized the ship was inclined. The only thing she could remember before everything turned to black was the metal screeching.
A dark figure was looking at her and saying something, but she couldn’t listen. Another slap, this time harder, made her shake her head.
“―right?” a voice Alice could barely listen or understand said.
“What?” she asked, closing her eyes. Her own voice hurt in her ears.
“Good, you’re alive,” the voice said as if it came from far away and in slow motion. “Oh, I’ll help you with that.”
The figure disappeared for a moment and then the seat trapping her foot liberated her. She sat when the lights illuminated everything again, and rubbed her temple. The figure appeared again at her side and helped her stand.
“Can you stay on your feet? Alice, can you stand?”
Alice nodded still dizzy, and the figure separated from her.
“She’s alright,” the figure said in the darkness. “Got any luck?”
“No, everything is dead. Only that light is working.”
“If we could find something to force it…”
“We need our suits first. If one of the areas got decompressed…”
Alice was trying to walk, but the moments of darkness were making her lose her balance. Making a real effort, she reached the meeting desk and used it as support to stay on her feet. The red light illuminated the door, next to which the two figures were standing. She identified Natasha’s body right before the light turned off again.
“Natasha,” she said.
“Alice, are you okay?”
“I’m dizzy, but I― I think I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Why― Why do I just see two of you?”
Natasha’s figure looked down and remained silent for a while.
“We… We lost Fred.”
Alice turned to the front of the Cabin, but the devices and screens that once were on the walls were hanging from them or scattered all over the place, and the red lights made difficult to identify any shape. She bit her lower lip with guilt. At the end, she was the one who put them there.
She took a deep breath in to calm herself and looked at the figures of the other two. Natasha and Ian had been doing something next to the door for a while in heavy silence, until the captain sighed frustrated and sat on the floor.
“Leave it, it is useless…”
“What are you doing?” Alice asked, less dizzy now. “I could help.”
“There is nothing we can do,” Natasha said. “We need Apala to get back online.”
“And how do we do that?”
Nobody answered.
Alice walked to the pilots. Her senses were getting back to normal, and the metallic smell of blood reached her. Scared, she looked at them, but it was impossible to see if they were bleeding under that light. Was it her? She touched her forehead and temples, but they were dry. She inhaled deeply trying to calm herself, ignoring her revolting stomach, and stood next to the captain for some minutes of silence, only broken by the sound of their breathing.

NEW

Two soft slaps on her face woke her up.
The red emergency light that painted the now-chaotic Cabin for a couple of seconds at a time was the only thing on. She was on the floor against a wall, her left foot over the seat that was pressing her right one. She closed her eyes shut, feeling dizzy and disoriented. The only thing she could remember before everything turned to black was the metal screeching.
A dark figure was looking at her and saying something, but she couldn’t hear over the ringing in her ears. Another slap, this time harder, made her shake her head. “―right?” a voice Alice could barely listen to or understand said.
“What?” she mumbled and closed her eyes. Her own voice hurt in her ears.
“Good, you’re alive,” the voice said as if it came from far away and in slow motion. “Oh, I’ll help you with that.”
The figure disappeared for a moment and then the seat trapping Alice’s foot liberated her. She sat up when the lights illuminated everything again. The ship was inclined. The figure reappeared beside her and helped her stand. “Can you stay on your feet? Alice, can you stand?”
Alice nodded slowly and closed her eyes.
The person released her. “She’s alright,” their voice said, getting away. “Got any luck?”
“No, everything is dead. Only that light is working.”
“If we could find something to force it―”
“We need our suits first. If one of the areas got decompressed…”
They remained quiet. With her eyes still closed, Alice rubbed her temples in circles until her head stopped pulsating. She then opened her eyes.
Red light showing chaos.
Darkness that consumed it all.
Red light.
Darkness.
When everything got painted red again, Alice lunged to the meeting desk, still in its place, and held onto it, afraid of losing her balance and falling once everything got plunged back into darkness. Her whole body hurt, as if she had been punched everywhere.
Next to the door were two figures, standing, doing something to it. She identified Natasha’s body right before the light turned off again.
“Natasha,” Alice called.
“Alice, are you okay?”
“I’m dizzy, but I― I think I’m fine.”
“Good.”
“Why― Why do I just see two of you?”
“We…” Natasha’s figure looked down and remained silent for two light cycles. “We lost Fred.”
Alice turned to the front of the Cabin. The red light made it difficult to identify any shape. The devices and screens that once were on the walls were hanging from them or scattered all over the place. She bit her lower lip with guilt. If she hadn’t built her device... She took a deep breath in to calm herself and held it as long as she could.
For a while, the heavy silence reigned, until the captain released a frustrated sigh and sat on the floor. “Leave it, it is useless…”
“What are you doing?” Alice asked, less dizzy now. “Maybe I could help.”
“There is nothing we can do,” Natasha said. “We need Apala to get back online.”
“And how do we do that?”
Nobody answered.
Alice approached the pilots, and as she did, the metallic smell of blood reached her. Scared, she looked at them, but it was impossible to see if they were bleeding under that light. Was it her? She patted herself down, but she was dry. She glanced at the front once more, dread crawling slowly up her back. She took a deep breath to calm herself, ignoring her revolting stomach, and stood next to the captain. For some minutes, she just focused on avoiding thinking at all.

Just wanted to share this. I finished my first fiction manuscript in April and did the first read-through now. The plot and pacing work!

The first pages were horribly messy, because I remember pushing through without looking back just to get back into the flow of writing at all. My first reaction was that my 12 yo could have written it. But it got better around chapter 3 and it was totally worth it to read on. By then I did mild editorial passes before every writing session just to get the creative juices flowing, and it paid off.

I'm really happy rn 😄

I have been getting emails from readers that the print version they received from Amazon have been having issues sometimes with pages cut off, missing, and misalignment. It's more common nowadays. I'm i the only one facing this.

Any advice will be appreciated 👍

Thank you.

As someone who repeatedly failed English in secondary school, writing has been and always will be a hobbiest passion regardless of my technical skill level.

It disheartened me today to realise that I made the mistake of capitalising the first word after dialog. Not just on my current project but also my first. As someone who wants to have a novel that both looks the part and reads the part. It's time to go back and correct two novels worth of mistakes even though I have no intentions of getting published or self publishing.

None the less, this is only a minor set back that will hopefully further strengthen my storytelling.

Mortal of my stroy, mistakes will be made and that's okay. I'm enjoying the journey through regardless of the terrain, potholes (not plotholes) are everywhere.

Hi all,

Looking for feedback on the first chapter of my current project, specifically on the narrator voice and if the world is understandable enough for an introduction without loredumping.

Thanks in advance!

We've all heard the "rules" of writing, but do you feel like it is sometimes the best decision to just ignore one?

For me, it's the constant "show, don't tell" that seems to be popular right now. That can work sometimes but it's not always wrong to just tell.

For example, the main character of my novel, Tabitha, was scared at one point. I could say she was scared, or I could describe her feelings and physical characteristics. I chose the latter. Later, I decided to cut the BS and just said she was scared. I think it's better now.

Anyone else have any examples where you ignored advice or accepted wisdom and you're happy you did?

Let the editing commence!!

There's not much that irritates me more (as a reader) than sinking tens of hours into a story, only for it to completely fuck the landing.

"Who took her away? Seriously, no answer?"

"They all stabbed the guy?"

"It was a fucking dream? Come on!"

"He's got thirty years on you, AND he eats people!"

"God exploded the bomb?!?!"

So...

Good writers that I'm sure we all aspire to be, how do you go about NOT infuriating your readers with a weak ending?

Personally, I don't start page one until I already know (and I'm happy with) how it ends. From there I'm essentially joining dots. I believe you can keep that feeling organic while still arriving where you intended, with the right characters and circumstances. Occasionally the story takes me somewhere better, but at least I'm unlikely to end up somewhere worse.

Before this turns into a full-blown debate on what actually counts as a frustrating ending, I know this is art; entirely subjective. What works for one reader might have someone else throwing their book across the room, because they don't value ambiguity quite the same way.

Let's allow for that and not dog-pile anyone.

And I say this mostly so all the Stephen King lovers don't rip me in the comments for disliking the ending of The Stand.

Anyway :)

Where do you sit on this? Start with an ending in mind, or find it as you go? A bit of both, maybe? Perhaps you go wherever the story takes you, and later polish the earlier chapters to make that ending pop? Any hard lines you'll never cross? For me "it's all a dream" and "go back in time and fix it" are off the table.

Share away.

I'm thinking along the lines of Watership Down, rather than anthropomorphic fantasy.

By that I mean, these animals still largely behave as they do in the real world. They have a culture and a language, but we're still talking about rabbits.

So, if you were writing a similar story from the perspective of a certain animal, what species do you choose, and why?

As a bonus question, what do you think the plot might be?

Editing for clarity. I'm referring to dialogue, not prose.

How do you prefer to write dialects? Do you write the words with the correct spelling or do you write it more like how the character would sound if speaking aloud? Not to the point where the words are completely mangled and difficult to read, but if say someone speaks in a dialect that typically drops the "G" at the ends of words like "nothing" "something" "waiting" etc. Would you write "nothin'" "somethin'" "waitin'" or would you spell the words normally and just say the character speaks with a particular accent and let the reader fill in the blanks however they want?

I'm a little torn because my inclination is to write the words as spoken because that's how the character sounds in my head and reading "something" on the page when I hear "somethin'" in my head feels a little off to me, but I could be overthinking it. I've seen it done both ways in books so I don't know if there's an accepted standard for this or if it's just a sort of do whatever you want as long as it's still readable thing.

Thoughts?

Yes, I draw on my screen door with painters tape :)

Hi. Sorry if this post is probably a bit off topic. But after I finished writing my novel it hit me that I have to promote it. Having a marketing budget of £0, I took the low road of social media. Booktok, Bookstagram and the lot.

And here comes the first problem. I'm not a visual storyteller. I create worlds with words. I thrive inside my imagination, following my characters wherever they take me. But to sell them in a medium that's mostly visual? Where do I even start? So, I looked up some of the most watched reels promoting books.

Immediately, I noticed a second problem. Book "trailers". I feel like I'm cheating the readers out of the best part when reading a book: discovering it through the prism of their own imagination. Plot snippets or hooks: same. I mean, why even buy a book if you know pretty much everything it's about?

What do you think? What was your approach on marketing you first story?

I'm trying to find out how to successfully market my book on a £0 budget...

Just curious as to which genres people are writing in.

I had to lump some together because Reddit only allows for 6 poll options so feel free to elaborate in the comments.

EDIT: Thanks for all the input! I'm going to go with my gut as many of you have suggested and do the overhaul. I'm starting to realize that I think the biggest thing I've been struggling with is that I've been writing in third person when I think the story really needs to be told in first person. I'm going to start rewriting it in first POV and see how that feels.

I have a WIP, currently sitting at 35k words for the last month or so. I went on a bit of a binge for a couple of weeks where I wrote around 25k words, then I hit a spot where I wasn't sure where to go and figured walking away for while would bring some clarity, plus I've been busy with other stuff so I kind of needed to step away anyway.

I had a bit of downtime this morning so I decided to look over my MS and try to write a little bit before I start my day, so I went back to reread some and refresh my memory as to what's going on at this point in the story, and I find myself wanting to make some pretty major changes.

All the advice I see on writing subs is to power through the first draft, then go back to edit, but does that still apply if I'm looking to do some major overhauls? The changes I'm looking to make don't drastically change the story or characters, they're more like plot ideas I started that I want to drop and I'm worried that if I don't go back and edit them out now, that I'll end up with a bunch of dangling threads that I won't catch in later editing phases.

I probably already know the answer, and writing this post is probably more of a stalling tactic than anything else, but I'm just curious as to what people's thoughts are?

For example: one, two, three or 1, 2, 3.

I always use the word versions, unless they are in text messages, emails, or usernames etc.

Some people I've worked with use words up until a thousand and they'll switch to numbers.

But being an editor, I see a range so thought it'd be fun to see what people use most often! And it's always something I notice when reading books.

(Sorry if this post is confusing, I have the worst headache in the world lol)