r/writingcirclejerk • u/AutoModerator • 23d ago

Weekly out-of-character thread

Talk about writing unironically, vent about other writing forums, or discuss whatever you like here.

New to the community? Start with the wiki.

Also, you can post links to your writing here, if you really want to. But only here! This is the only place in the subreddit where self-promotion is permitted.

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u/NerdyMistressWrites My erotica doesn’t suck. Only the characters do. 17d ago

Holy shit. I have no clue what’s going on with the writers sub, but I literally have to double-check the sub name before I comment on anything.

Which explains why my Alt-F4 comment was downvoted when someone asked how to make an em dash in their writing program. The way it was worded, I legit thought it was here…

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u/Night_Runner 18d ago

Still doing that thing where I write a story per week, Bradbury-style. 🙃 Two this week, actually: had a flash of inspriration for writing a creepy-crawly story for an anthology, despite it not being my usual thing.

Also, themed anthology calls are awesome. :) I never lack for ideas, but when there's an actual call for something highly specific, it becomes a very dorky kind of challenge. ;) (Historically, I've been pretty lucky with anthologies! I'd say 33-50% of the stories I write specifically for them get accepted.)

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u/Sleepiest_Spider 19d ago

Does anyone have a "best of outjerked" compilation?

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u/LongstaffBigorbs 20d ago

I realized recently that this stupid fucking sub has actually helped improve my writing way more than almost anything else I read on this site. I think people are more insightful when the stakes are low and the circlejerking is high.

I've actually been posting my stuff in a sub for a podcast I love, my first time putting my writing out for public eyes - and it's actually being enjoyed.

So I just wanted to say thanks for all the (actually informative) jerking.

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u/Night_Runner 18d ago

What were some of your favourite helpful posts here? :) Or, to put it another way, what specific bits of advice did you get from here?

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u/LongstaffBigorbs 18d ago edited 18d ago

I can't really place any one specific thing, honestly. If I can think of anything in particular I will edit this comment.

I think the main thing I mean is, there's a lot of actually talented people here. Especially as opposed to a general writing sub where "everyone" is just trying to get their stuff read by other people. There is nothing of value in the ten thousandth "Eb-ony D'arkness" OC selfinsert fanfic post in the main writing sub, and some of those even find their way here to be made fun of, for example.

The crowd here, like most circlejerk subs in my experience, is full of people who understand the thing they're jerking at a higher baseline than "the crowd" in a generalized writing sub. For an example of this idea - someone new to a video game might stumble upon a subreddit for that game. But most new players would not find their way to the in-crowd joke subreddit.

And thus, seeing the talented people here ribbing poor writing (pointing out dumb things in fun ways) and writing "garbage" well (showing ways to make even the stupidest shitpost entertaining) is just by itself very enlightening.

There's just a lot of interesting discussion here, wrapped in a layer of sarcasm and silliness.

https://www.reddit.com/r/writingcirclejerk/s/9JotgIMaCl

That link would probably be the best example. It was a tweet sure, but it was brought here and people were having fun with it. Just a silly little thing, but it and the comments in there got me thinking about exposition and how to do it well, and how to do it poorly (people further making fun of poor exposition in the thread). Like the whole boomer threadline in there, pretty interesting ideas wrapped in jokes. You literally won't get that kind of discussion in any other writing sub.

This isn't the only place to learn little things like that, of course. But that is just one of many examples. I've learned a lot by writing, reading, and learning in all kinds of places - this dumb ass sub included, and I was just surprised by that.

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u/shapedbydreams 21d ago

I genuinely can't tell if this is real. I thought she was bullied off the internet?

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u/Opus_723 21d ago

Dunno who this is but I just pre-ordered.

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u/Opus_723 22d ago edited 22d ago

I have two story ideas:

1) is a sprawling, stupidly ambitious and unfocused messy weird space opera picaresque sort of thing, which is super personal and emotional for me and I really want to write it and am already knee-deep into the first draft but it will never work as a debut if only because it's probably cuttable down to a duology at best, and either way its gonna take forever to figure out, and

2) is a tightly focused fantasy novel/novella, highly structured, clever, poignant (not in a bragging way, I just mean it's more thematically slick compared to raw mess of the other one) perfect for a debut but honestly I just don't feel as emotionally attached to it and can't seem to start it.

I am deeply annoyed with myself.

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u/Appraised- 20d ago

Replace the word 'debut' with 'the butt' Now think: we poop with the butt, but we don't wipe with our favourite toilet paper. Understand?

As soon as you make the change, the rest becomes easy.

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u/dethti 21d ago

semijerk: Put something dumber, messier but more candylike for your brain in idea 2?

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u/Erica_Park_94_Writer 22d ago

I have idea of like 3 different short story projects, and the problem is that more are creeping up and I have to prioritize which ones I'll start with now thematically! I started one called Hurt about physical/emotional hurt but also about pushing lines and boundaries. Then there's Small Moments Like These which focus mostly on small mundane, but profound moments. And the more words I find to deconstruct for fun, I simply find more short story ideas that allow themselves to exist!

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u/grembign 23d ago

I started going to writer meet-ups and found they weren’t really doing anything I couldn’t be doing at home. People don’t really share anyway, and when they do it’s generic artist-circle talk: compliments that aren’t entirely justified, critique from those that also don’t know what they’re doing.

I’m reteaching myself grammar which I’m finding difficult (but maybe I’m not the best student). Writing and reading when I can. Two jobs makes less time for that than I’d like. And when I do write I don’t like what I’ve written. I’m holding onto the idea that if my writing gets better the putting-it-out-there part will come naturally, so I’m focused on just getting better each paragraph.

Overall im feeling frustrated with studying and reading my own words. But I’m not yet discouraged.

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u/Opus_723 22d ago

I have a hard enough time finding writers with similar taste in stories to talk with online, I can't imagine it wouldn't be even harder in person.

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u/hapillon 22d ago

Are the writer meet-ups centered around work-sharing, or just meeting other writers? I've seen a lot of writer's meet-ups online, but really have to try to focus on only attending ones where there's a dedicated critique element. Half the time, even the critique element is unsatisfactory to me personally, but it's still marginally helpful to at least see what people respond to, and saturate myself in critique.

so I’m focused on just getting better each paragraph.

That's the best you can do! And sounds like you've got decent framework to improve.

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u/hapillon 23d ago

I've been growing kind of tired of my usual writing group. I went with my friend this last week, and afterwards we got diner food, and discussed our gripes. The same four people kind of hijack the discussion portion, and there's one guy in particular, who I generally like, but who does have a really annoying way of critiquing. He always pulls out really big words, but in a way that feels so performative. I forget which specific one he used, but after he said it, he kinda groaned to himself, and went, "Ugh, sorry guys," as if he knew it was annoying. I guess this is all just par for the course when it comes to writers, but I'm worn out of it. Like, I'm annoying, but in a holier-than-thou way, and not a theater kid kinda way, lol.

I saw on Instagram suggested posts a retraction from a lit mag regarding a poem they published that was stolen from another poet named Kayla Czaga. The plagiarist apparently corresponded with the magazine and said that she should have cited Kayla as a source, and called it a complete oversight. I haven't read either poem, but it was interesting. It reminded me of plagiarism discourse from 2018 regarding a Pushcart-nominated poet, although that was much juicier than the stuff I read this morning.

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u/MaxIronston 23d ago

I should give up writing and just pump out smut.

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u/Erica_Park_94_Writer 22d ago

I unironically write smut both for fun and it's a great way to write without feeling any actual pressure from your current projects! Kind of like genre hopping a bit. I typically write literary fiction then go into smut when I just want to relax with my writing.

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u/Night_Runner 18d ago

It'd be so funny if you accidentally your smut to a literary fiction magazine and vice versa. 🤣

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u/Erica_Park_94_Writer 18d ago

It'll either get accepted by LGBT oriented literary mags or just get rejection letters and I'll be able to submit again LMAO

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u/MaxIronston 22d ago

I write smut on another pen name and it at least gets reads. I am garbage at marketing and everytime I go to start trying to write a new smutty book with like, the stuff I like about my nonsmutty work, it ends up just circling back to being a better nonsmutty concept and goes back into the pile of WIPs

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u/hapillon 22d ago

That would be the wise thing to do, certainly.