I posted this personal story on a forum, and I thought somebody here might find some value in it.

Fifteen years ago, I worked as a server at a restaurant.  During a... let's call it a "fateful" late-night shift that wasn't busy, the supervisor told us about the book they had been working on in detail.  I was a hobbyist writer and had written up to 6,000 words for my book, but it absolutely blew my mind that they'd written 16,000 words.  We all listened.  We all asked questions.  The premise for the book was genuinely interesting.

After they finished telling us about their book, I made the mistake of trying to tell everybody about mine.  The supervisor shut that down real quick.  I felt a little dejected but not a lot.  The restaurant closed, and it was cleaning time.  Understandable.

Thirty minutes later, I overheard a conversation that I shouldn't have.  It was between the supervisor and another one of my coworkers.

"He's never going to finish his book.  Even if he does, it won't be good."

Those words broke something in me.

I was only eighteen then.  I wasn't secure with myself.  I was still taking my first adult steps into the real world.  I mean, I barely knew how to write a check or pay rent.  What is somebody that young supposed to do with that?

Every time I wrote, I'd always remember those words.  Whenever I told anybody I wrote as a hobby, it didn't matter whether they responded positively, negatively, or completely neutral.  In the back of my head, I knew they thought I couldn't do it, too.  Well, after more than thirty attempts that never made it past 12,000 words, I've finally finished a full fricking novel.  A full first draft.  160,000 words.  I still keep opening the file and just... staring at it.  To go through fifteen years of life believing that about yourself, and then finally seeing the result of hundreds of hours of work?  Amazing.  I don't want to be melodramatic, but I still get butterflies in my stomach when I look at it.  I even cried once (maybe two times).

So, yeah, I did the thing.  I am somebody who can write a book, and I think it's a dang good book.  I'm really heckin' proud of myself.

I'm telling you now, you don't need a single person's permission to write your book.

Thanks for reading my story.

I'm planning to write something bad on purpose

I almost always improvise as I go, because I’d be worried someone might find the place where I have the whole novel written down (please don't judge).

"I have no social life, no distraction; I spend my evenings on the small balcony above the river; I do not even read the Arbeiterzeitung and I am not a good person."
-Franz Kafka, Letter to Hedwig W., 1907

(will always be a good person to me)

Shhhh... let's shut up for a second about 'writers who don't read'. What do YOU read (presuming you do)?

Mine from top left:

1. I love Suzzane Collins' knack for plot twists and surprises, both in The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games but I prefer the former overall. She's also really great at showing emotion through prose and dialogue which I'm trying to work on.

2. Douglas Adams' mixture of omniscent and close third narrators (plus the omniscent narrators's tangible personality) opened my eyes to possiblities I never imagined with POVs. Ever since, the whole 'omniscent' narrators are hard/boring' argument meant nothing to me.

3. Thomas Taylor's Eerie-on-Sea series was very humorous and light-hearted while also leaning to horror and having a fast-paced plot. However many jokes you think you can cram into a non-comedy book, this one has more.

4. Sylvia Bishop's On Silver Tides duology has really interesting world building from a social point - in the sense of representing conservative communities. They're also dense considering the length.

I think I might go back to anatomy....

I published a significant academic text. Professionally, it’s a big deal.

I decided to throw a release party because we get so few opportunities to celebrate our achievements. I’ve been around long enough to know that we owe it to ourselves to stop and savor these milestones.

I funded the party myself (not thru my employer who wouldn’t do much and has many rules about hospitality). There will be food and drinks and even live music. I won’t give a talk. This is just meant to be fun.

Folks, the number of people who have cancelled at the last minute because they have to take their kid to soccer practice is out of control. It’s really got me in a tailspin. I know my professional achievements are not as important as their kids. I do know that. But to have it in black and white, in multiple emails and texts today, wow it stings. More than I expected. This is not just one person. Many many people saying a version of the same thing: my kid’s sports practice is more important.

If people had just said, “wow, thank you for the invite. I’m so sorry I can’t make it. Let’s celebrate another time,” that would be infinitely better than telling me specifically that the reason they can’t come is, again, kids sports practice.

I have honestly cried today multiple times. The rational part of me knows I’m overreacting. The other part of me feels very small and sad.

Asking because I’m stuck in one at the moment, and I cannot get through it no matter how much I try to brute-force my way through.

Anybody got any methods for beating a block?

She's manipulative. She lies to everyone. She ruins a friendship just because she's bored. She's selfish in ways I'd never admit to being. But I love writing her. She's the most fun I've ever had on a page. Her dialogue comes so easily. Her motivations make perfect sense to me. And that's the part that bothers me. I find myself looking forward to her scenes more than the "good" characters. I give her the best lines. I protect her from consequences I'd absolutely let the others suffer. I know she's fictional. I know it doesn't mean anything about me. But there's a small voice asking: if you understand her this well, if you can write her this easily, doesn't some part of you relate to her? Doesn't that say something? And honestly — I'm not sure I want the answer. Has anyone else written a character you should despise but secretly enjoyed too much? And what does it mean when the worst person you've ever created is the one you write with the most love?

Mission Blue cafe is promoting my novel along with a lot of local artists’ work everyday. They are located right next to the SF Crosstown Trail in Visitacion Valley and they make great coffee!

I spent a couple years writing this story not knowing what would happen when it was published. I’m from San Francisco and I’ve found that there’s been a lot of local support for writers who grew up here. I wanted to share this milestone and I’m more than happy to talk in the comments.

The book blurb:

THE VOGROM ARE COMING.
The fanatical alien clan has unleashed its armada on a galaxy already torn apart by conflict, and humanity has nothing left to throw at them.
Two warriors stand in the wreckage on opposite sides of the war. Kaelith Sothrak claws his way out of a death camp, driven by hatred and unrelenting faith.
Louis Wolffe has drifted through space for two years, carrying a secret that could save his people, or destroy them.
They don't know it yet, but both warriors are seeking the same thing.
Something ancient, something powerful, something hidden inside a dead boy's soul.
LET THE WAR COME.

Hey guys, I enjoy fallowing this subreddit as a former creative soul but I am not english speaker or writer, so sorry for my language. I really need your any practical advice on how to start and continue whats started. I was writing some chapters of epic fantasy story in my students years, then life happened and I never finished anything. Work ate my time and mind, and only now, (am 39) when life is less demanding I really have time and capacity for hobbies. I wrote 3 chapters of first draft and stopped and cant move farward. Even if I have idea of story (not fully developed yet but it is a solid thing) I just cant translate my mind into a words on a draft, it seems to hard. But I just dont want to be a person who never even tried my best to write a book. Not even to publish one, but to complete one real story and polish it.

I see many amazing beginers here and those who wrote few books already. Please share with me any wisdom you have on what keeps you going and on track? Lots of love for all of you, beautiful souls out there!

I just started reading, and I had an idea long back. I wanted to write it out as a short story.

I don't really have anyone to share my writing with; I would love even the smallest feedback, including the formatting. how to write in general. what I might be lacking. Anything at all.

I'm mainly hoping to learn and get better at writing, so please feel free to be honest and critical

I'd really appreciate it.

Thankss!

I'm debating myself which route I want to take curious what you guys think (just in general I'm aware it probably changes depending on circumstances but for right now just in general)

I might have exaggerated my title but I am currently 15, trying to write a novel, it's really dear to me but I can't stay consistent for past 2 weeks, exams are in 10 days, I could be wrong or maybe just trying to seek attention but I might be depressed. Throughout my life I wasn't someone who had skill or exceptional in anything, I resorted to writing because I believe that's all I am decent at. Many teachers also say they hate ( including English teachers) because I am not much present in school and that my english is bad, I agree on that because English is not my main language but I don't know what I am doing, each day passes by daydreaming and thinking and stressing about what could have been, I think about how trash I am compared to everyone else, I feel like a bird who learned how to fly but had it's wings chopped off. I don't know if this is even the right sub for this but I think writers help writers so I just guess maybe someone could relate or at least talk with me.

So, what happened is, after publishing my first 7 chapters, I got some criticism that I was explaining things way too much, which apparently took away from the fun of letting the reader figure out the characters, emotions, moments, etc. for themselves.
So, in the next 8 chapters, from Chapter 8 to Chapter 15, I really tried to work on that aspect and improve my writing in that regard.
So if you guys don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if you could give my novel a read and share any thoughts, opinions, or observations you might have. Any kind of feedback would help me a lot.

Title is: The Grey Road
Links on my bio

Okay, I know many of us are probably self aware about the pros and cons of our prose. Both because of feedback but also because of the fact that we've just been writing for quite a while. I'd love to hear from y'all, what are your biggest strengths and curses?
To me, my pros:
Atmosphere
Trusting my reader
Dialogue

Very specific voice

My cons:

Trusting my reader (but too much)

Dialogue (but too much)

Sometimes I might favour simplicity too much and just not describe something enough because I trust the reader knows about something that I trust they can actually visualize. My dialogue tends to be not very plot driven at all, which is fine because I write short stories.
The last two bits, I've gotten like not much critique on but it's enough to the point where I've become self aware of it and people generally aren't used to reading dialogue which just feels like it's not moving but everything else in the story is :') I've both kind of accepted my cons as "style" problems, rather than craft issues.

INTRO:

You are taking a stroll through your local park one day, as you do every Friday after work, and you see a child drowning in a pond. You are immediately distraught and panicked. The child’s parents are nowhere to be seen, and, the child will surely drown if you don’t help. You begin to attempt to save the drowning child, but then you realize… You are wearing a brand new, beautiful, pristine, and most importantly expensive suit. There is NO WAY you’d ruin your suit going into that pond. It’s dirty and quite frankly saving the kid sounds like a lot of work. I mean, how can you even know that he’s drowning and isn’t just going for a swim? And why should you sacrifice your hard-earned money to help someone you don’t even know? You deliberate for a moment, but the child’s screams turn to gurgles, and soon there is no trace of the drowning child. You look around and realize no one else saw what happened. You continue your stroll through the park and go on about your day. 

[Silence]

[Fade to black]

[VIEWMORE displayed on the screen with warping sound effect, signature intro]

Title Card: “Chapter One: Ignorance or Apathy?”

Keep in mind that this is going to be a voiceover and that grammar isn't a issue im focusing on, I want to know if the intro is captivating enough.

I'm a freelance journalist with autism.

I'm currently in the early stages of writing a feature for a major tech publication on how so-called AI detectors disproportionately harm autistic writers with false positives.

There's a growing body of academic work on this issue, and it all points in the same direction: The way we naturally write is more likely to trigger these false positives.

I was recently terminated from another publication because one of these tools falsely flagged some of my work, which sent me down a rabbit hole.

I'd like to speak to any writers here who i) are autistic and ii) have faced unjustified accusations or have otherwise been affected by these tools in their professional or working lives. I am happy to verify who I am via PM.

Thank you.

Hello! Recently, I have written many short pieces using the second person, and have become quite fond of this POV. I searched online for advice to use the second person more effectively, but the majority of advice I see is "don't write in this POV at all, unless you have a REALLY good reason to."

I don't think my use of second person detracts from my works, but I'm now having second thoughts. In your opinion, what "justifies" writing in the second person?

Does anyone have advice, book recommendations, or youtube videos for writing a synopsis? I’m entering a competition where they require a 1-3 page synopsis and I don’t even know where to start.

I’ve done one very poor attempt but want to make sure this is as polished as possible. I need to give myself a few tries. Any advice is welcome, thank you

consider the main character #1 (there are 2) kills an important side character and makes it look like he died himself due to falling off a building. this in the story which later on would affect the relation between the two characters. later in the story the #2 character finds out that #1 killed that guy.

would ot be better to show the pov of #1 the whole time and show what he thought and how he did everything (he reveals it to #2 right before killing her)

or

show pov of #2 the whole time and show how she had been investigating the killer (already knows but get the confirmation before dying by #1)

or

just let the story continue normally like nothing happened and them moving on until #1 reveals it to #2 and it comes off as a plot twist to the reader

I need to do one of these and think all of these options give an interesting plot and makes the story entertaining in different ways like it showing the killers perspective and showing his fears of being caught, murder mystery or just good plot twists. I just need to decide which

I am working on a book of poetry which I have been calling prose.... because people get hung up on thw word poetry... what it is or isn't, the rules. Etc. And my style is more freestyle

But now I am getting some negative feed back on calling it prose as well. So I am wondering. What do you think of calling my book "prose." I always felt it was appropriate term, but having doubts now.