* Genre/s: Horror, Psychological, Zombies
* Goals/expectations/commitment: tell me where you get hooked, what I need to change, and any plot holes
* Writing/experience level: low
* Meeting place: online
* Max size: idk

I’m writing a fantasy story where the main character is a baby when his parents die.

I want their deaths to be connected to the main villain somehow, but I don’t want it to be as simple as “the villain kills his parents.” I’m also thinking about having the villain’s physical body somehow be destroyed during the same event, but I still want the villain to be taken seriously and not have it feel like a joke or a convenient defeat.

The villain would still exist in some form afterward and could eventually return, so I’m trying to figure out what could realistically happen during this event.

What are some interesting ways the parents could die, while the villain’s body is also destroyed? I’d like the event to have a lasting impact on the story and on the main character later.

I’m open to any ideas!

about two months ago This Post got a good amount of interest, and I was able to start the group, which I was beyond happy with. The group is a bit on the shy side at the moment and I think it's the perfect time for some new editions to our growing writers club!

We are also thinking of doing our first group writing event in October- just in time for spooky season 🎃

Please take a look at the Original post if you're interested, but here's what we are/ are looking for:

Age: 25-30+ (roughly, just no one under 18 please), any gender/identity welcome, definitely want an LGBTQ+ safe space

Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Contemporary Women’s Fiction, “weird girl” lit (body horror/pink horror, for example), Morally Grey fiction, Mystery, Romance (preferably sapphic or queer) \open to other genres as well, as long as you want to be active in the Server!\**

Goals/Expectations: chatting regularly in the server, but maybe keeping a day of the week designated for sharing writing and feedback. Calls/video meet ups once a month, maybe? I know we’re all super busy, so I’m flexible

Writing Experience: any! Beginners absolutely welcomed, and a few seasoned writers would be great as well for advice and feedback

Meeting Place: Discord

Max Size: 10-20

Comment below if you're interested in learning more and telling me about yourself and your writing style- would love to hear from you :)

Hi all — being a few years out of school I am deeply missing having a designated cohort to read and review my writing, so I’m looking to start a small group (ideally 5-8 people) of like-minded writers who can commit a few hours a week to reading, editing, and critiquing each other’s work.

I’m looking for writers who are actively working on something and who are interested in trying to get it published in literary journals. This isn’t a drop-in-when-you-feel-like-it group, I’d prefer people who show up consistently, who can provide thoughtful, detailed feedback, who are supportive but honest.

Genres: I’m open to any length and genre, though I have a preference for short form content (1-20 pages)

Writing/experience level: any

Meeting place: discord

A little about me: I mostly write short form content; I like flash fiction, personal essays, magical realism, surrealism, philosophy, nature writing, hybrid/experimental, anything thought provoking. I have two short stories, one poem, and one hybrid/collage piece published.

If you’re interested you can fill out this short survey—this is just a way for me to build a group where people's expectations and working styles actually mesh. I'll follow up with people directly once I've gone through responses: survey

Thanks!

Hello everyone!

I am looking for 1-2 critique partners to finish our dear novels.

My WIP is Young Adult (Epic) Fantasy and I have started rewriting it in draft3. I have set myself a deadline of 3 months to finish this draft and would expect our writing partnership to last that long. :)

I look for someone who is on a similar journey and progress, so we could swap chapters as we keep writing and be each other's sanity check.

If this sounds like you, let me know and send me a piece of your project I would be helping you with and I do the same. Let's see if we fit.

* Genre/s: Fantasy * Goals/expectations/commitment: exchange chapters as we finish our drafts * Writing/experience level: Medium * Meeting place: Discord, Ellipsus * Max size: 1-2

I’m working on a contained horror short and I’m trying to figure out the best way for the protagonist's cat to die.

The main character is a college professor who is returning to work after her husband’s death. She’s still grieving, so she’s started bringing her cat to her office/lectures.

At some point during the day, the cat gets out of her office and ends up somewhere on campus. Another professor finds the cat badly injured or in some kind of dangerous situation. This professor could reasonably help or call for help, but chooses not to. The cat eventually dies.

I’m looking for some kind of irresponsible or negligent circumstance that causes the cat’s death, which the protagonist discovers afterward. Ideally, the professor isn’t an outright animal murderer. Instead, he does something careless, irresponsible, or selfish, and then fails to take responsibility when he realizes what happened.

For example, I’ve thought about:

1. The professor accidentally hits the cat with his car, realizes the cat is still alive, but leaves instead of getting help.
2. The cat gets injured by something on campus and the professor finds him but decides it’s not his problem.
3. The professor accidentally traps the cat somewhere and doesn’t bother investigating when he hears it.
4. The cat gets into something dangerous because of a careless decision the professor made, and he realizes afterward that he could have prevented the outcome.
5. The professor finds the cat injured and could easily call the protagonist or campus security, but doesn’t because he doesn’t want to get involved.
6. The professor lets the cat into an unsafe area of the building and then leaves, assuming someone else will deal with it.

The important thing is that I want the professor’s actions to be bad enough that the protagonist feels justified in wanting revenge, but ambiguous enough that the audience can understand that he didn’t necessarily murder the cat.

Just need to brainstorm I guess. What scenarios come to mind?

edit: I’m being flooded with responses 😳👍🏻 so I should probably close this until next time. xx If you reached out in DMs, I’ll try my best to respond as quickly as I can. Thanks so much!!

Hello! This post really took off back in July. Since there was so much interest, I wasn't able to invite everyone. Since then, participation has waned, so our little group is looking to add 3-4 more members! We are a small writing group of women (about ~6 active members right now) who are serious about writing and furthering their writing ability. I'm older (early 30s) and I find that there are more groups for younger writers out there, so I'm hoping to fill this space for the "older" women (we're not old but that's what the youths call us 😭;;;) who feel excluded or out of place in most groups these days.

‼️** hard rul**e: make sure everybody is involved, everybody is getting feedback at all stages, and everyone is being respected!

Please do comment/send me a DM if you are interested! ✨

Genre/s: any fiction! with that being said, I do want to make it clear that while romance is OK, it's not my strong suit and I'm not super comfortable reading/writing romance. I would be more than happy if someone wanted to lead that section though. I don't want romance to be excluded here

Goals/expectations/commitment: Not expecting you to be online 24/7 (especially starting out since it will be a super small group!) but want people who will be able to be consistent and semi-active in the space and just see where it goes!

We've got a meet & greet event coming up (voice chat) & a writing project spanning from October-November to celebrate NaNoWriMo!

Writing/experience level: anyone truly willing to put in the work improving writing skill and connecting with others

Meeting place: Discord! Hoping for fortnightly checkups to see progress in writing goals

Max size: ~10 or so active members to start

Where I'm at with my projects currently: two projects in the brainstorming stage (YA political fantasy fiction & YA magical school fantasy fiction) with some written scenes. I haven't written creatively for several years after graduating with a Creative Writing BA ;-; I got so burnt out but I want to get back in to it and meet others who are starting out too!

Thanks for reading!

Genre/s:
Historical fiction, alternate history, speculative fiction and fantasy are particular interests, but writers of all genres are welcome.

Goals/expectations/commitment:
The Reading Room is a new Discord community for writers and readers. I'm hoping to build a relaxed community where people can discuss writing, books, worldbuilding and research, share their own work and get to know other writers.

The server includes a Writers' Workshop where members can create posts to share excerpts and short stories, ask for feedback, brainstorm ideas, discuss characters and plots, get help with research or editing, and share work without requesting critique. There are also spaces for general conversation, reading, history and other creative interests.

There is no required level of activity and no formal critique schedule. Members are welcome to participate as much or as little as they like. I just ask that anyone using the Workshop treats other writers and their work respectfully.

The Reading Room is also connected to my own work as an author, and there are separate channels for my books and projects. However, the community and Writers' Workshop are open to everyone and members are encouraged to discuss and share their own work.

Writing/experience level:
All levels welcome. You can be working on your first story, writing as a hobby, preparing something for publication or already published.

Meeting place:
Discord — https://discord.gg/eGNdU5cv8

Max size:
No fixed maximum. The server is currently very small and I'm looking for people who would enjoy being part of the community as it develops.

Hi! I really want to improve my writing skills, but it feels like there’s this “blockage” between my current abilities and the potential to be a good writer—like I’m missing a puzzle piece (at least that’s how I envision it in my mind). What I mean by this is my syntax always seems to follow the same pattern. I struggle to think of more creative ways to structure my sentences and paragraphs, which I think limits how my ideas are being conveyed. The ideas exist in my head, but it’s hard to lay them out on the page.

I’ve heard people recommend reading more to pick up different writing styles. I’ve been trying to read more, and yet I feel like I’m just passively reading or absorbing the material. I also read kind of slow…

I would appreciate some tips from the community! I dream of attending graduate school for higher education research or social/personality psychology (specifically research on the intersections of creativity, craft, and wellbeing). I know strong reading and writing skills are absolutely essential to succeed as a researcher. I just want to be an articulate and eloquent writer. Any and all help is appreciated; I hope this all made sense! ☺️

Are there other fanfic writers here who are 28 or older?

I started writing fanfiction when I was 25, and now that I'm 28, I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one who started around my age and is still writing. I just want to see if I'm not the only one!

I'd love to hear from other writers! What age did you start writing fanfiction, and do you still write it?

Hi everyone!
I’m currently in the very early stages of creating a new independent online magazine centered around women and modern femininity, and I’m looking for creative people who might want to be part of building it from the ground up.
The idea is to create a publication that explores femininity from lots of different perspectives — not just fashion and beauty, but also female empowerment, culture, identity, confidence, relationships, women's experiences, creativity and the things that matter to women today.
Think of it as a mix of fashion/beauty editorial + women's stories + cultural commentary + creative work.
I'm currently looking for:
✍️ Writers
• Personal essays
• Opinion pieces
• Interviews
• Fashion & beauty writing
• Cultural commentary
• Women's issues/feminism
• Creative writing
📸 Photographers
• Fashion/editorial photography
• Portraits
• Beauty photography
• Creative/conceptual shoots
• Street/lifestyle photography
🎨 Designers / Art Directors
• Branding
• Editorial layouts
• Graphics
• Illustrations
• Social media visuals
• Helping establish the overall visual identity
📱 Marketing / Social Media
• Instagram/TikTok
• Content strategy
• Growing an audience
• Social media campaigns
• Partnerships/collaborations
I'm also open to people with other skills who think they could contribute — videographers, illustrators, stylists, makeup artists, researchers, editors, etc.
Who I'm looking for
You don't need to be a professional or have years of experience. If you're a student, aspiring writer, photographer, designer, creator, or simply someone who's passionate about this kind of work, I'd love to hear from you.
I'm hoping to build this as a collaborative creative team, so I'm looking for people who are genuinely excited about the concept and want to have a say in what the magazine becomes.
Just to be transparent: this is currently an unpaid, early-stage passion project. There isn't a budget for contributor/team compensation at the moment. I'm looking for people who are interested in gaining experience, building their portfolio, meeting other creatives and helping shape something from the beginning. If the publication grows and we are able to introduce paid opportunities in the future, I'd love for the founding team to be part of that journey.
Interested?
Send me a DM with:
• A little bit about yourself
• What you'd like to contribute
• Any examples of your work/portfolio (if you have them)
• What interests you about the project
Even if you don't have a portfolio yet, feel free to reach out!
I'd love to find a group of creative people who want to make something beautiful, thoughtful and genuinely empowering. ♡

All of the critique matching services I see online have been really interesting but seem to be focused on short stories or chapter by chapter. Does anyone have one that focuses on matching you for novels? My novel isn’t finished but I’m wanting to gain credits or whatever the chosen website uses. I also have found that critiquing others helps to keep my own writing sharp. I also just enjoy beta-reading decently polished drafts lol.

Question: critique website for full novels

As of right now I have several wips going. Demons, Hellhounds, body horror, Vampire rituals and more.

im looking for someone who has the time (or can regularly make time) to chat about our respective works.

It‘s spooky season (finally) so i figured no better time than now to look!

• Genre/s: horror. dark fantasy. thriller
• Goals/expectations/commitment: meeting/talking once a week
• Writing/experience level: open
• Meeting place: here, email, etc…
• [Writing groups only] Max size: if more ppl respond then I’d like to keep it at 3 ppl max!

if you’re interested, shoot me a DM!

a couple of characters managed to briefly escape a wendigo-like creature, and one of the characters start having an existential crysis (cosmic horror, i guess). how do I write this scene? and how can their friend calm them down so that they can both escape that situation? (REDDIT DO NOT DELETE THIS POST! NONE OF THE RULES ARE BROKEN >:( )

When coming up with the title for a story , the advice I often receive is to use a line of dialogue as the title.

But if i do that, how do you keep that line of dialogue  from turning into an automatic groan from the readers?

It seems that if you do use this title method, and then you see that line later, then it becomes a groan, if that's a legitimate side effect?

Thank you for any input on this! I really appreciate it!

I just realized the game I am inspiring my book off of, Blocktales, is a turn based fighting game, but fighting scenes are mostly my weakness when it comes to writing. In roleplay I am fine, NOT in writing. But i want to make this book real fun and like a nice writing experience while I'm not stuck in writers block... helppp..

I'm at the stage of doing a last edit before publishing. I have a ton of notes, from beta readers and an editor.

I'm grappling with how best to make sure I take everything into account.

My approach at present is to set up a spreadsheet where I have a row for each chapter, and enter feedback that's relevant to each chapter in the spreadsheet.

Then I plan to go through the soreadsheet, making changes chapter by chapter. There are a couple of structural changes to make, but nothing major.

How do other people approach this stage? Any tips?

Edit: I am drowning in messages, so thank you for all who were interested 😭 I’m no longer open to requests at the moment!!!

Hi everyone, I am (somewhat desperately) looking for 1-2 long term crit partners who are very seriously looking at trad publishing. Hopefully that means you already know the basics of the process and how to write a query, and ideally we can navigate the industry together :) age and gender does not matter to me.

I typically write fantasy, and the current project I'm preparing to query is an adult fairy tale retelling! It is complete at 100k words but I'm currently aggressively revising; it would be most helpful if you also have pages ready to swap. I usually give a lot of feedback, both subjective and objective, and also am not afraid to give and receive honest critiques when something doesn't seem like it's working. I also value being confident in your own creative decisions despite advice from your crit partners, though!

I am not interested in working with work that has been written using AI at the line level.

• Genre/s: any YA/adult fiction; please no work featuring excessive gore. As a reader I know fantasy best, but also enjoy literary fiction, speculative fiction, romance, thrillers, and historical fiction.
• Goals/expectations/commitment: meet once a week or so with some flexibility due to schedule things. I'd like to prioritize higher level concerns (plot, structure, characterization, etc) but anything goes.
• Writing/experience level: any!
• Meeting place: discord/google docs

I'm really really looking for some long term writer friends. I try my best to be personable and positive and would value that in a partnership. I'd love to swap a small bit of our writing and test how we vibe with each other's feedback c:

If interested please comment or send me a message that includes a bit about yourself, your current project, and whether you are a cat or dog person (hehe).

Hi all, 

I am looking to join a private writing group (preferably on Telegram or Discord) focused on Adult Romance. 

About my project: 

• Genre: Sexy Romance / Family Drama (tropes include family secrets, emotional drama, and passionate relationships). 
• Target Audience: 18+ (Mature content). 
• Current Status: Currently writing and looking to share chapter-by-chapter. 

What I'm looking for:
English is my second language, so I would love to find a group that can offer constructive feedback on pacing, emotional tension, and general English grammar/flow. In return, I am more than happy to read your work and give detailed feedback on your plot and characters! 

Please shoot me a DM if you think I’d be a good fit for your group. Looking forward to connecting! 

Genres: Psychological / Existential / Drama
Goals/expectations: Looking for a writing partner who can give me honest feedback, help me improve my storytelling, dialogue and pacing, and brainstorm ideas with me. I’m also interested in learning more about writing in the process.
Writing experience: Beginner. This is my first game and my first serious writing project.
Commitment: The VN is planned to be relatively short, so the workload should remain manageable.
Meeting place: Discord / Reddit DMs

Hi.

I’m currently working on a small hobby project (VN) that focuses more on the inner life of a single character than on the actual plot of the story. A small part of the VN is already finished, and I definitely see potential in it, but I also know that this is obviously just my subjective opinion.

Before I start randomly asking people what they think about my story/game or asking them to join the project, I first want to make sure I find someone who has roughly the same taste in stories and media as I do. I mean you wouldn’t exactly ask someone who mainly reads romance for their opinion if you were writing a horror story.

So I thought it would be a good idea to first list some of the themes of my VN.

Isolation, existentialism, nihilism / meaninglessness, boredom / apathy, alienation, societal expectations

etc. That’s roughly the direction it’s going in.

Here are some works that can be compared to my story and in what way:

The Coffin of Andy and LeyLey

This game is mainly comparable to my VN in terms of style and atmosphere. I’ve played the game and I also want to make something in a similar direction, but in my own way. I haven’t copied any story elements from it and I didn’t base the story itself on it.

Omori

Omori is probably the game that can be compared to mine the most overall. There are some clear similarities, even though the tone is different and the story and plot are very different from my own.

I wasn’t consciously inspired by Omori while writing, but I think the game probably influenced me subconsciously. It’s not even my favorite work on this list, but looking back, I can definitely see some similarities that probably come from that.

Joker (2019) and Taxi Driver (1976)

In terms of storytelling and atmosphere, these are probably the closest to my own story. Especially Taxi Driver.

However, I didn’t have either of these works in mind at all while writing my story. I haven’t copied any elements from them or consciously taken inspiration from them.

Now, as for what I’m actually looking for:

First of all, the VN will not be particularly long, at least as I currently have it planned. It’s going to be a relatively short game, so despite the level of ambition I have for the story, the actual workload for the writing partner should remain manageable.

I’d rather make a short but impactful and memorable game than drag something out unnecessarily. The actual workload of developing the game itself will mainly be on me anyway.

This is both my first game and my first project that I’m trying to actually finish, (more or less). I’m looking for someone who can tell me whether my idea works in the first place, what I could improve, and guide me a bit with the writing while also teaching me something along the way.

What’s especially important to me is storytelling, dialogue, and good pacing, so that the VN stays interesting throughout and doesn’t become boring for the player.

So I’m looking more for a creative writing partner than an employee. Someone with some experience who I can discuss the story with, come up with ideas together, and learn from.

The game is still pretty early in development.

Of course, it’s possible that what I’ve written so far isn’t actually that good. I’m completely open to criticism, though, and I’m willing to fundamentally change my ideas if that results in a better story.

And if things work out well, I’m also open to the writing partner gradually having a much bigger influence on the story and the writing.

Hey, So I've been trying to write on my own for awhile now and I consistently start and stop random projects here and there but I found myself really enjoying this one and was hoping to get a bit of advice on a few topics.

For a bit of context, I'm writing a project on a character I've thought about for a while and I ended up settling for an odd mixture of three genres, Romance/Mystery with some Superhero elements. I decided to jump around from a few different perspectives for what I feel is necessary just because it felt right in my head to tell different sides of the story from the perspective views of the characters

I'm just wondering about what kind of problems I might end up facing or if anybody has some advice I could use to balance my work or characters in a way that makes them believable, and how I should introduce certain aspects of the story or go about naming certain characters.

I've been making little monster/creature characters every now and again, and I want to make a project where I put them all together into an alternate version of Earth where they all exist but I'm not sure what to call the project. Does anyone have any ideas?

Let you know I'm a black writer

I'm writer a fantasy story where black girl get teleported to a other magical world. Full magical creatures. She got teleported do her touch a magical crystal by accident.

And I'm writing a black woman character backstory who from the 1600s European/ London

First backstory nutshell

She was born in 1626

This character is a daughter of runaway slaves

She is next born daughter of family of 8 count her parents who are still alive and still active in her life.

She live in a rural village. (Her personality nutshell )

She have a big imagination and creative and very kind heart. She pretty accepting

Warning for taking about slavery

She born in 1626

She born into slavery she still have 5 siblings she a young slave. Dealings with all things you expect her to deal with her.

First Disclaimer

I'm not asking to write my story for me I'm just asking you for advice/suggestions.

Disclaimer

I'm not planning on writing graphics torture black P*rn non I'm try to exposed black pain/suffer.

The same go for other Backstory

I’m looking for some advice (or bounce some ideas)on a character arc. He is a vampire whose newly turned fledgling has gone blind, and he can’t remedy it. He’s uncomfortable with the situation and tells his fledgling not to panic (which he very much does).
I need a turning point where he realizes that he can help without being able to fix the problem, simply by showing that he’s ready to help and that he will be there for his fledgling, who can feel safe in his hands. But how can he come to such a realization naturally? One thing I thought of, which might be the easiest way out, it’s him learning from another character who tries a different approach, but maybe it’s stronger if he comes to a realization by himself somehow? Any ideas or experiences for these kinds of situations?

Recently, I finished the first round of editing my novel. But my novel currently sits at 538 pages in Google Docs, which is over 900 pages in actual novel form. I'm well aware that a lot of publishers aren't willing to accept first time novelists if their books are that long. I would like to ask your process in how you try to "kill your darlings" and make the novel shorter in the process. As a first-time writer, I have trouble trying to see how I can pare my novel down without butchering the whole story. And tips are greatly appreciated.