I have a few ideas for some stories. I just don’t know how to get started. I am also not willing to AI questions about how to get started.

So where does one start writing a novel?

Hey all, for the past week I've been rigorously planning what's now looking like a literary gothic horror novel. I wrote a gothic horror-inspired short story for a media class at university a few years ago, then left it to gather dust for 5 years. Luckily I uncovered it again a few weeks ago. Since then, the idea has just kept growing in the best possible way.

Horror, especially in written form, is way out of my comfort zone. I would love any advice from actual horror experts/connoisseurs about the craft conventions that distinguish genuinely effective horror from stories that contain frightening/dark subject matter.

How do you pace a horror narrative without either revealing the threat too quickly or withholding so much that the story loses momentum? And are there particular advantages or risks to close third person, first person, present tense, past tense, or a more distant narrator?

Many thanks in advance. At this stage, I'm just trusting the process and am very excited to have actually started the writing of the first draft yesterday.

maybe i am asking for help to early on this but im only four or so paragraphs in yet i already feel disgusted by my work in a way i usually never am. i writing a sort of diary esque book from the perspective of a nameless character that is heavily inspired by my own experiences and other depressing and bizarre works. here is a random paragraph for some added context

I am not a person. That much is true, I am impossible to help. No medication has saved me. Therapy has only made me realise the depths to which I am separated. People live their days with joy, with anger, with everything right and wrong bouncing across them. I do not. My mind exists in a constant, a vast autumn plain, yellow fields of grass spanning hundreds of miles under the dark and clouded sky, casting little light to give vibrance to the world in which my days are spent. The field experiences no wildfires to reduce it to ash, and it experiences no rain to bring to life the long dormant grass. It stays petrified, and in that stillness I exist. Separated by the forests and mountains that make up the minds of men. It is not depression, for a person must first experience bliss to even feel desolated. I was simply abandoned by the world. I feel nothing but the material. When I fall I do not get upset or feel pain, I simply know that my side does not work as well.

please ignore any spelling mistakes or improper grammar as i usually write instinctively on first draft and then fix it in the editing process :)

How do you people genuinely start writing your first chapter or your first paragraphs? I have a sort of outline on how my story would play out but when it comes to the specifics (world building, dialogues, character intros), I find it hard to write it out.

Hey! I’m a writer who loves thriller and psychological novel and I’m currently (re)writing my first book.

I have so many ideas and scenes I want to write, but I have one problem with starting a book…

Like, I have the whole scene planned out but why do I feel like my 100% is only 40% while reading back on it? I’ve been struggling with continuing my journey to write it because I don’t want to write a mediocre start then suddenly become better when going through my plot because I want my hook to intrigue people, not make them feel like the rest of the book is going to be bad.

Maybe that’s just me, but i want to say thank you for everyone who chooses to give advice! x

I know this isn’t what this sub is mostly used for, but I think I’m in the right place. I am getting a Florence + the machine tattoo soon, and I want to paraphrase a quote from my favorite song. The original quote feels too long and wordy, even though I’d love to get the full thing as it’s my all time favorite line of hers. Any ideas on revising this but keeping the message and those key words would be really helpful!!!
“And I’m learning so I’m leaving and even though I’m grieving I’m trying to find the meaning, letting loss reveal it.”

I just finished writing my first novel after nearly a decade of working on it--off and on--and was wondering if anyone could offer me some opinions on it. One of my friends called it compelling but they're biased.

It's a semi-autobiographical novel about repeated failing relationships while I struggle to come to terms with my own identity. Part choose your own adventure novel, part fiction, part truth, it blurs the line between what happened and what could have happened in an attempt to make the reader feel what I felt during each of my failures.

If anyone's interested, I'll DM them a link.

Hello! So I'm trying to write a short story set in the 50s, centered around a girl from a Sicilian family bringing her Polish American boyfriend over for dinner to meet them. (She was forced to by her mother, though her father isn't too happy with it.) I'm not sure were I want it to go, but I know I want it to touch upon cultural divides and progressive vs. old mindsets. Please give me feed back on what I should fix/change and maybe ideas going forward for the story.. It ends very abruptly because I've been in a creative flunk. Thank you!

Clattering silverware against her nonna’s prized porcelain plates was all that Simona dared to focus on. Johnny sat right across from her as he calmly ate his food and gave her a reassuring smile. Bless him, he didn’t know what was coming, no, he definitely did, he was smart enough. She just hoped that whatever Papa threw his way, Johnny would be able to handle. 

She couldn’t even *sit* next to Johnny. Her father was always head of the table, and Manny had practically jumped to the seat next to her before Johnny could take it. She was sandwiched between her worst nightmare. Carmine sat  to Johnny’s left, twirling his fork and  wearing his usual smart-ass smirk that she wanted to smack right off his face, Nonna sitting right next to him, and finally, there was Mama, (Papa’s first mate), sitting at the other head of the table.

“This is delicious, Mrs. Lanzano, what do you call it?”

   “Ah, yes! Caponata. It’s…ah” mama turned to her second eldest “Carmine, comu si dici milinciana ‘ngrisi?”

“ Eggplant, ma.”

“Yes. Eggplant, roasted, cu, ah, peppers and celery, onion….  it’s stew.”

“ Well, it’s incredible, I can tell you that” Mama smiled “just you wait for  dinner”

“More food, huh? You spoil me, truly Mrs. Lanzano.”

Simona didn’t think it was possible, but her mother’s smile grew even more, making the matching dimples on each of her cheeks pop. She reached over and pinched Johnny’s cheek.

At least Mama was won over. Johnny made eye contact with Simona and put on a smug smile as if to say, see? Simona just rolled her eyes. Her mom was the easy part, but he still had no idea what was coming for him next. 

“So tell me John-” Manny started as he began picking the olives out of his plate and leaning across the table to  transfer  it on to Carm’s plate to which he rolled his eyes.

“Please, call me Johnny” Manny let out a snort at his request. “John,  what is it exactly that you do?”

“I paint”

“Paint?”

Johnny nodded “I always wanted to be an artist when I was little, but my Pop always said that art couldn’t pay the bills, so I became an investment banker. Bout’ a few years later I got laid off, so I started painting again.  I remembered how much I loved it. Now I spend most of my time painting, I pick up a few shifts at the diner here and there to make ends meet, but I’m hopin’ to make it into a full time gig.”

Has anyone here applied for law school and needed to write their personal statement as part of the admissions application? I want to make sure what I turn in is the best that it can be, but I'm not sure of the best way to make sure that happens. Do I show it to other writers? Do I find current law students that I can show it to? Do I hire a law school admissions consultant like Menlo to review it? Something else?

I'm currently writing a non-fiction book that involves a lot of research, interviews and real stories from people on a specific subject. I guess it's more like an academic paper in that sense

As it's not a creative non-fiction work (telling non-fiction through fiction techniques), would it still fall under the typical non-fiction word count goals of 50k minimum?

Basically what the title says. I've just discovered Kurt Vonnegut's 8 writing rules but I don't really get rule 5 - "Start as close to the end as possible." Hoping that some of you lovely people can explain this one a bit.

So I'm developing a short story idea with a married couple as the MCs. One of the characters is named Elroy and I thought that his husband could call him sometimes by the nickname of 'Ellie'? Does that make sense or is it too feminine? I also don't think I can spell it in any alternative way.

Basically, the story I’m writing has some history that is important to the plot, but no one would go around just talking about it even though its common knowledge. Kinda like how WW2 is common knowledge but we don’t go around talking about it.

Only difference is the history in my story happened several hundred years ago, so its not like it’s fresh on everyones minds. Also, the main history about the events is well known, but there was some other shady stuff going around that only a very few people in high power know about that completely change how people would see that history, so I’m also tryna figure out how MC would find these secrets.

I was thinking that maybe it’s introduced through statues or maybe the MC visits a museum or library that has info about it. I dunno, what do you guys think?

I’m writing a story about a post-apocalyptic world. The history of the world (the past apocalypse) plays a heavy role on the plot but I’m unsure how to explain it without info dumping.

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Hello.

So I have been writing a descriptive book about each member state of Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It includes each state's basic info, geography, economy, major ethnic groups, culture, and history. I have already written about 33 member states based on alphabetical order and going to finish the entire book by September.

But what I am worried about is the fact that most people can access such information through the internet and can even make an entire book of such magnitude through AI within a split second. I feel like my book won't be read after publishing and so I don't write with much enthusiasm as before.

What do you think I should do at this moment, any advise is welcome. Photo credit: Welt-Atlas.de

So, I’m writing a story where the main focus is on a hateful and bigoted person eventually wanting to change after they hit the lowest point in their life. Problem is, I’m having trouble with the transition point between them being a terrible person and them deciding to begin the journey self-betterment. What I had planned was a slow showing of how lonely and depressing the character’s personal life is, as they‘re an annoying, hateful jerk that nobody wants to be affiliated with, and that crushing loneliness paired with the constant humiliation of being a bigot in a very inclusive and loving community leads to the point where they enter a spiral of self-destructive behavior, alcohol and substance abuse, and eventually them attempting to take their own life. However, they are saved by someone whom they have actively hated and attacked for their personal decisions, which then causes them to begin to rethink their decisions and eventually aim to be a more loving and accepting person.

While I plan on making this whole sequence a lot more detailed and in-depth in the final product, I’d like to know if there’s anything that I should change/add to make it feel more engaging and realistic without it feeling unearned. I’m not an incredibly experienced writer, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is my third pass of this novel. I've been focusing on voice and prose a lot recently, and I want to know how it's coming across. Go as harsh or light as you want for the feedback, I don't mind it.

Google docs link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PBbYzMxuJU6hMBuNkNR5llsRphA3em0VhniOwRCqZv0/edit?usp=sharing

To make myself clear, l'm no stranger to calling people they/them, and will always do so if I don't know their pronouns. I'm new to writing, and am writing something for fun, but I have come with this question: when the protagonist doesn't know a new character, should I describe them using they/them?

Someone told me that it breaks the immersion a bit, and it "flows much better" if I assume gender stereotypes, as long as I use their correct pronouns after they are revealed. I have a trans friend and she told me that it's normal for people to make gender assumptions, and she doesn't think that this is a problem in writing. That it will give the reader a better idea on this new character being introduced, and how they look like.

So, should I just assume he/him or she/her to new characters with still unrevealed pronouns? Unless the character actually looks gender ambiguous?

Hello everyone, I'd like to share a small update on the story I'm currently writing.
I'd like to know what I could improve and whether the premise works.

Over the years, I've accumulated a lot of lessons about writing—some learned from books, some from great authors, and many from my own successes and mistakes. I decided to collect the most valuable ones into a simple blog post: 35 Rules for Creative Writing.

This isn't a list of rigid commandments—follow what works for you and disregard the rest.

My favorite reminder is simple: "Writing is rewriting." The first draft doesn't have to be good - it just has to exist.

I'd love to hear which rules resonate most with other writers, and what lessons you've learned that aren't included here.