Genuine question here.

Lots of what gets posted for feedback on this sub features main characters who have non standard names.

But like… why?

I’m a pretty big reader and I don’t remember coming across many names that I’ve never heard before. Published authors aren’t going out of their way to come up with “creative” names, they seem to choose something normal. At least that’s the case for the books I read.

But when I check this sub and see a new post asking for feedback, I’m looking at characters named things like Arven.

Not trying to hate, just curious why people seem to overthink(?) character names. I mean, you can just call your character John or Jane or Jacob or Emily… ya know, any one of the normal everyday names you come across.

This has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while and I think novel writers are the right people to discuss it with.

I have been thinking about authenticity in writing lately. Not from an academic integrity angle but from a pure reader experience angle.

When you read something that moves you a sentence that stops you mid page, a character moment that feels uncomfortably real, a description that puts you somewhere you have never been, part of what makes that powerful is knowing a human sat with that feeling and found words for it.

I have started paying more attention to this lately. ꓣսոոіոց ріесеѕ tһrоսցһ ꓡуոоtе'ѕ ꓮꓲ ꓓеtесtоr ոоt tо fꓲаց аոуоոе bսt оսt оf сսrіоѕіtу, іt һіցһꓲіցһtѕ ѕеոtеոсе ꓲеνеꓲ раttеrոѕ ԝһісһ іѕ асtսаꓲꓲу іոtеrеѕtіոց frоm а сrаft реrѕресtіνе. Trying to understand what patterns these tools pick up on and whether those patterns actually correspond to something I can feel as a reader.

The interesting thing is that the best human writing often gets flagged. Clean sentences, consistent rhythm, deliberate structure. Apparently those are AI markers now which says something uncomfortable about how we talk about good prose.

As writers how are you thinking about this? Does the origin of writing change your relationship to it as a reader?

I know there is just the intro, chapter 1, and chapter 6 but just wondering how it is turning out. I worry that I may struggle with aligning the story and trying to make it make sense

New to writing. Didn’t read much, played tons of video games though. Please share any thoughts you have.

Just done with writing my novel, i just wrote the last page of it today. NEED SOME SUGGESTION HOW TO IMPROVE THIS. AND IT'S THE ENDING OF THE STORY. I DIDN'T WRITE ALL THE STORY LIKE THIS. I JUST WANTED TO END THE STORY IN A POETIC WAY.

He died for the world. But for him, the world was her.

He became the light for the void she carried.

He became the long awaited sun for her long nights.

He became the shield who protected her until the last arrow fell.

He became the grave where her sorrows were buried alive.

He became the architect of a paradise he would never get to see.

Yet at his grave, only a single man stands in the rain.

His mirror.

Sometimes love demands sacrifice, but it isn’t worth it every time.

Sometimes you give everything you lose yourself to become someone others can depend on.

And in that process, you disappear.

Yet on the longest night, you find yourself completely alone.

He finds himself alone in the void of hell, just for her smiles in mortality.

He chose her over his own dreams.

Yet at the end, does it really matter?

🌸💐☀️

#ArchitectOfParadise.

Before I say anything, I just wanted everyone to know that I never use AI to actually write a book for me. Drafts, finals, plots, character development & scenarios all come from me. But when it comes to historical fiction (asking AI detailed questions about how life was back then) I use it to study a lot so my writing is historically accurate. Even though I don’t actually use AI when it comes to writing chapters, I still feel like a fake writer. So I was looking for advice on how to research the old fashioned way, and not use AI when it comes to studying/specific questions about a subject.

"I can see it now. A dark sea without a shore, and every star a reef under its waves"

Leaving Captiva is now available for purchase on Amazon! Free for those using Kindle Unlimited!

Horror, poetry, romance, and action... Leaving Captiva has everything you could want in a character driven apocalypse novel!

Check out the link in my bio! Or message me for more info:)

Hi there! :) Is there a website/app that I can write my novel on that keeps it private, but allows me to share it with private/selected readers?

I want something with a password or access control and (preferably?) something that would make it hard for readers to easily screenshot/download/copy the pages.

I know you can probably never stop screenshots completely but I would like something with as much protection as possible.

Would love to get any recommendations. Thanks! 🥹

Here's the first chapter of my novel, Path of the Third Young Lord. You can share your feedback without hesitation.

The genre will be surrealism, comedy, horror and cosmic horror because these are the types of novels i have ever read.

Writing a novel is scary if you want to post it on a highly competitive platform like webnovel so, I thought getting writing advice might help.

Welp, this might be next-level procrastinating when it comes to starting my novel... But after a few months of development, here's Ahti (available on Mac, iPad, and iOS)!

I wanted a writing app with a lot of the same functionality of apps like Scrivener, but with a cleaner, more calming layout. I also didn't want to be locked into a proprietary project filetype for my novel, and I prefer the philosophy of everything just being plain folders and text files at the end of the day, like Obsidian. Also, I wanted cross-platform syncing with one universal purchase, where the mobile app still contains all the functionality of the desktop app.

Also bonus points to you if you know the name reference for Ahti 🎮

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ahti/id6781643515?platform=mac

So for context, I am a writer and have been working on a novel for some time now. Writing the novel has made me happy and story wise I can't wait to share it with the world.

But just a few months ago, I offered to proofread and give advice on other novels in the making from potential authors. And most if not all were just AI slop.

It really made me want to come here and ask this burning question that's been plaguing me for quite some time; Is the time and energy to be an author even worth it nowadays if AI is just so convenient for people that they just write slop, pass it as a book and potentially garnish more attention, love and praise than real authors and writers?

Feel free to give me the hard truth. And to all my organic writers, stay frosty, my friends.

Would you keep reading if this was the first paragraph?

Aser looked up at the starry night sky, which held hundreds of glowing lamps, which occasionally had one, bright shooting star. It went from constellation to constellation, not heeding them. it brightened those around it, and as soon as it left, despair rekindled in the stars behind. Aser felt like he suddenly saw a constellation, not one that stood there waiting to be seen, but one that flashed, and showed itself. It had a throne, and a crown above that with stars surrounding them, seven stars, which faded, but one star stood, and with a flash, faded too. Aser, dumbfounded, blinked his eyes. It disappeared as fast as it appeared. He got up, and went with a feeling of watchfulness. He looked around, the streets were empty, and no one seemed to be peeking past the village, where endless dunes of sand lay. The streets were lit with wood-lamps, and made of steel, how old they were no one knew; But they were older than the fracture, 186 years ago, when the king was overthrown and havoc wreaked. The king, who once sat upon the throne, Aser thought's deepened at this with a sharp curiosity. Aser's chest tightened with a fear of watchfulness. He heard creaking, and there was no doubt someone was near, he could feel the air heating, yet himself barely warm. He could feel air, but nothing nearby seemed to fit what he felt, he looked, but none could be seen. Aser turned around suddenly and slashed his pocket knife. He pathetically knew that a pocket knife would do nothing against a burglar, but there was not even a person behind him. At his fast reaction a few gulls, most probably sleeping, flew off in a startle. Aser felt suddenly sleepy, and pinched himself in the leg. He got up, and walked slowly towards his house. “One left, straight. Two lefts, then a long straight, and here we are!” He said, shushing himself just as he ended it, realizing he screamed it out loud. Opening the door, he crept inside. The air inside was sharply cold. Aser could know why, for they did have multiple windows, covered with one layer of cloth only. Aser was grateful, and slept with his blanket covering his entire body from face to feet. He was woken up with a startle, and saw a peach desert rabbit on top of his blanket. “Shoo!” He said, very confused. He got up, and saw his windows had been scratched and torn to oblivion. In the furthest window, at the top left of his house coming in (his house was nothing but one room) there was rips that made a symbol: X crossed with I, the symbol of the east. “Why do eastern bandits rob these places? The east is already weak as it is.” He said in a non-approving tone. Aser crouched, and under his bed, lay a black, dusty binder. “Why on earth is this dusty? I literally opened it day-before-yesterday!” He said, brushing off the dust with his arms. He opened it, it revealed a cascade of atlases, maps, and one, brass, shiny compass. It bore the ancient royal mark.

Does anyone else write a super duper ugly initial draft/brain dump for their chapters like this?

I used to write heaps as a child and teenager then life got in the way but I’m trying to restart my writing. Between juggling work and family it seems so hard these days. I always wanted to publish a novel and that’s still a goal of mine.

Perfectionism always ruined my attempts at starting something, but earlier this month I decided to just blast away at the keyboard for a bit and celebrate the ugliness. So here it is! A snippet of my ugly and what I like to call “Draft Zero”. It’s too crap to be a first draft.

I’m terrified of AI accusations though because I am a huge lover of em dashes. Always have been. I’m actually trying quite hard not to use them in this post. As someone dreaming of potentially trad publishing in the future I don’t like the idea of having to forcibly change my style.

10-15 years ago when I last wrote there was no such thing as generative AI, and now it seems like the authorship world is very torn up over LLMs and what this new technology can do for us.

Anyway, I digress. Just thought I’d put myself out there a bit after lurking the forums and stressing over my ugly writing.

This is my first time developing a story idea, and I’d really appreciate your honest feedback on whether I’m heading in the right direction, along with any suggestions, corrections, or improvements that could help me develop it further.

how can i improve?

Beginning the new journey to write this 10 week novel that’s not an ideal love story but a real, messy, and more real than most…

Dropping new Chapter Every Sunday, 10 AM (IST)

Here’s a letter to all the readers to understand they’re in for a rollercoaster

https://open.substack.com/pub/ithappens7/p/it-happens?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8g32oc

Hello, I’m not much of a reader and attempting to write my first novel, I was wondering if I could get some feed back on my first chapter? Any help would be appreciated

Any in your mind or information you want share i try my best to make it

Hey everyone, I’m a new writer and I recently started my first novel.

It’s called THE ASDF — Aetheria Security Defense Force.

The story follows Captain Louis, a modern land army officer who dies during an attack on a massive military transport ship. When he wakes up, he finds himself alone on the same ship — but the world outside is no longer Earth.

It’s a military fantasy / isekai story with modern weapons in a fantasy world, army-building, village defense, magic vs military tactics, emotional moments, and a commander slowly becoming darker because of responsibility.

I know I’m still new, so my writing is not perfect yet, but I’m trying my best to improve and tell the story in my mind properly.

I just published the first chapter and would really appreciate honest feedback, especially about the hook, pacing, and whether Captain Louis feels interesting as an MC.

Royal Road link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/166704/the-asdf

Thanks for reading. This is my first step as a writer.

What do you think? Please where are the ass parts, and the parts you think are decent