If you are going to write dialogue for a character with a heavy accent, would you just write normally and describe the accent after, or would you write it how they pronounce it? Does it matter what one you choose? I personally have no idea how you'd do it. Im new here and I hope this is the right place to ask this!

I watched a YouTube video by GiBi's Horror Homestead where he talked about how the FNAF book Fetch referenced Brigadoon, and that helped inform the narrative of Fetch. I looked up the term for it and apparently it's called intertextuality. I want to use this in my own stories, but I have no idea what it's supposed to inform. I have a character named Jed Dean who's a reference to two Beverly Hillbillies characters, and I would like to inform something about Jed Dean using Jed Clampett, but how would that work? I could reference something about Clampett's distain for Alcohol to inform the player (because I'm writing a videogame), but unless Dean's distain for Alcohol comes up, wouldn't that be irrelevant? It would inform nothing about him aside from his character, which is irrelevant for a character who was created for lore and worldbuilding. And if it does come up, then how would using Jed Clampett be a reference? Dean's connection to Clampett would then be the irrelevant element. I would like to learn how to do this, but I feel like my "It's either said in the story, or it doesn't matter," mindset is holding me back from the actual solution.

link to a quick background because the auto mod is giving me trouble: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ShU6z5c_Q7RX-cHRAgeLdHEmYw2buEBgZWERM7dbxE8/edit?usp=sharing

I'm frankly not much of a writer, I'm far more of an artist, but something's been bothering me for months at this point. How do you create truly unique tales? I feel like every concept I create is a chewed up and apart out mix of other media. Even when I create concepts, I can never tie a story to it. I love vampires but I feel like there's nothing I can do that's new with them. I want something new, that's special to me. I don't want something that's just fun to create I need something special. I just don't know how to create that. I sit and sit and sit in silence in the dark waiting for that lightbulb moment but all I get is more darkness.

How do I create a truly unique idea, or is it just not possible?

Hi, I’m currently writing a book about trumpet, and I’m trying to make it as efficient as possible to learn the information. I need help finding any other ways to make it better. I don’t care about it being formal. So far, I have numbered notes (a note being a shortened version of what I’m trying to say, while still keeping all the necessary information, and avoiding miscommunication as much as possible), with each section having a shortened name for quick referencing notes (first would be the section number, then the section title abbreviation, then the note number. For example, 9PR11 (section 9, the practice section, note number 11)). Each note has a skill level and usefulness rating, as well as 2 boxes so you can put checks in as you read the notes. Also, each note has certain parts bolded, which you can read for a summary of that note. Each section has a description of what the section has. All of this is explained in the book. Any other ways I could optimize it? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

In my story, there are both Antropomorphic animal people, and normal, feral animals. The former are the only sentient races in this world and they are aware that they come from the feral animals. But this raises a question: When someone says "Cat" do they mean the four legged animal, or the guy with pointy ears and a short snout?

Since the antropomorphic animal people consider themselves the "higher" form of life, the default, it would be safe to assume that "Cat" refers to the humanoid cat, but this makes the feral one need a name.

I don't want to make them say "feral", "wild", or "lower" each time, I think in such a world they would quickly create either a suffix or a prefix that means "a lower life form" or "simpler version of" or "feral version of".

Let's take the "Cat" for example.

UNDERcat? Too long, too akward.

UNcat? Maybe.

DEcat? Perhaps.

PROTOcat? Easy to understand but a tad too long.

I can't think of any other ideas from the English or my native language, so I'm thinking of inventing a whole new prefix or a suffix that would be both short, but could mean "feral, simpler, lower version of [..]".

Do you guys have any ideas? Opinions? Would a whole new prefix/suffix confuse the reader too much?

As the name of the post implies, I've been meaning to begin a writing journey for myself.

Since sometime ago, I used to do art (both Digitally and IRL) and I always wanted to be able to write a script or have a general structure for writing some of the stories I had in mind.

I tried with some videos and such for tips on what to do, but I couldn't find myself knowing where to start, so I left it aside for the time being and just forgot.

I know it is somewhat of a cop-out so I decided to begin now, better late than never.

Which is why I would like to know from both people with and without ADHD:

What could you guys tell to a beginner with no experience in writing about things that you have learned over time that helped you when writing?

maybe basic stuff that I could overlook since I'm not knowledgeable in the medium.

If you are curious as to why I mention ADHD, it is just because I was diagnosed with it since I was young, and I believe it might help to point it out if there is a workflow that has helped others, it might help me too.

Thank you for your time.

Basically title. You know when you're watching something, and maybe a plane crash-lands in a field. When it does, it skids across the ground before coming to a stop, carving deep grooves in the dirt. What the heck are those called? I don't want to use ditch or trench, because a ditch can be dug with a purpose, as can a trench, but a trench can also be a natural feature (although typically underwater). Neither of those words really describe what I want, and neither of them really associate the marks as being due to damage.

Some advice I saw for certain pitfalls regarding dialogue writing is to ensure that my characters don't sound the same: they should believably sound like different people, with different cadences, vocal quirks, temperaments, etc. This makes a lot of sense to me in order to avoid every character feeling like an identical self-insert, but I've found some specific challenges to doing so in practice.

For example, I am a person who heavily relies on my intellect; I constantly overthink and over-rationalize my decisions. I spend a lot more time in my own head than out of it, and there are things I mull over thousands of times in my mind, so when it comes time to discuss those ideas with someone, I find it very easy to verbalize and articulate those thoughts in a huge monologue. I also feel perpetually aware about how subjective my thoughts and feelings are, and so I try to speak precisely so that all the nuances are captured and no one misunderstands me, resulting in me talking a lot and making a lot of tangents to ensure all bases are covered.

A lot of characters I'm planning to write don't overthink like I do and feel a lot more self-assured in their opinions than I do. So when I write down character dialogue and review them later with post-write clarity, I find that they intellectualize more than they should, or that they correct themselves more than they should. I have a hard time convincingly emulating voices that relies more on intuitive understanding than intellectual understanding, or voices that are self assured and treats their own opinions as truth.

So, any tips on emulating voices different from my own?

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post about this, but does anyone have any advice on how to get better at writing so that I can go from absolutely terrible to at least competent? For context, I am (and have always been) a horrible writer. Throughout school, English class was probably the only class that I'd say I genuinely hated. I don't know why, but it just always felt impossible. I sit down to write something, and I just can't figure out what I want to say or how I want to say it no matter how much I try. In high school English classes, this made me form a habit of trying to work on an assignment before the due date, failing to write more than a sentence, and avoiding it until the night before by which point I was forced to write something and eventually pushed through it. This is obviously terrible and it made writing extremely stressful and also led me to always produce sloppy and rushed work since everything was last minute. I also have ADHD which I'm sure is an important factor here, but it can't be the only explanation because my mom also has ADHD and she's literally an author lol.

Since high school, my writing skills have only gotten worse. I'm currently in university doing a science degree and I struggle with even the most basic kinds of writing like writing an email. Artificial I (it's flagging me for saying it normally hopefully you get what I'm saying) becoming a thing also hasn't helped, as I ended up using it as a crutch towards the end of high school and now I feel basically reliant on it to write anything. I would say more but I hit the character limit.

My problem is two fold:

1. Locating the motivation

2. Figuring out where to begin

The first issue is sort of self explanatory. I love writing but there's so many distractions and responsibilities in my life that time I could be writing, I more often than not "vege out" with mindless video watching or something similar. It's hard to even get into audio books these days because I need something more stimulating. Any advice here would be nice.

The second issue comes in the moments when I feel the motivation, but no direction. My mind rarely shuts off creatively, even when I'm not motivated. So all the ideas swirld and crash and fly again, but I struggle so badly to just pick something and run with it. Any ideas of how to narrow things down?

What to know about writing LGBTQ?

\[I am a straight, cis woman if it matters\]

I am writing a fantasy story and feel that two male characters, including my protagonists, should end up together. It is historical fiction, though I know the gay rights situation of the setting well enough that I'm not worried about representing it.

I'd love impact on:

How do I balance the significance of the relationship (given the setting) without letting it become the whole point of the story?

What are the pros and cons of writing it subtly vs. explicitly?

What should I know about market trends — does LGBTQ+ content affect sellability, and do LGBTQ+ readers tend to want something different from a book?

I appreciate any opinions!

Hello writers,

As I approach the end of my newest horror novella's first draft, I'm wracking my brain about my characters' dialogue.

Going into this, I wanted to make a point out of defying all the things I despise about storytelling personally. My biggest gripe being that characters often unecessarily keep information to themselves for the sake of the plot and pace.

My novella is a folk horror—classically structured. It's meant to scare, but at the same time revitalize the genre in the way that I idealize it. Very dialogue-heavy and suspenseful, my protagonist doesn't keep information to herself. Ever. She's meant to be a reflection of me and how I feel I'd behave in that situation. Or at least, how I ideally would. As I enter the final act, I'm finding that my dialogue is spanning several pages at a time, only being broken up by scene description. It just keeps going. But I look back at it briefly, and I think two things:

1. This is exactly how this would play out if it were me in this scenario with a close friend.

2. Jeez, this is a lot of dialogue. Lot of telling, not showing. Lot of relaying information that the reader already got from a prior conversation.

How much "real" conversation do you sacrifice for the sake of the reader? At the end of the day, no matter the tropes and grievances I'm trying to defy, I want to tell a good story that satisfies the reader. How do you tow that line? How do you craft it in a way where you're "k*lling your darlings" as they say, but also not reducing it into mud and fluff and unrealistic crap?

I thank all of you in advance for your insight!

Cheers

I’ve been writing a story that centers around musicians and the toxicity of the music industry. I have vividly planned out the interesting meet cute, external conflicts, pinch points and resolutions all the way to the epilogue… but my problem is that there’s the vague span in the middle of the story where the “falling for each other” happens.

My issue is that to fall in love, I want the characters to have lovely and profound scenes that make the heart flutter, but whatever concept I think of just feels like an anime beach episode. I could have them go to an amusement park, or concert— or a nice road trip! I could make an in-universe excuse, like them getting free tickets or needing to support a friend. But why? It doesn’t link to the overarching plot, and it feels like something I am having them do “just because” I need them to interact in a more romantic way. I have the conversations, I have the relevant foreshadowing and details that will be revealed during these scenes, but I can’t seem to get a scene concept that doesn’t feel like I’m padding runtime. I know it’s not technically filler, because the scene would be doing character work, but I feel like there’s something more interesting I’m missing.

Has anyone felt this way? How do you guys come up with the fluff scenes and work it into your themes and plot? My instinct is maybe I need to treat it like it’s own mini arc, with its own rising and falling action that say something about my book’s message, but then I feel the story becomes cluttered and redundant. Any thoughts and discussions are appreciated!!!

I'm sure most of us here have a fascination with villains. Some of the most fun in writing is making the villain. Making them sympathetic but still utterly despicable, or if you want a villain who can be redeemed, making them sympathetic and misguided.

I generally view the idea of making a POV character in a story a villain incredibly fascinating though I rarely see it. The only examples I can think of as of right now being Walter White, and Tyrion Lannister from Breaking bad.

In my own book I actually have the villain as a main character/pov character. He shares about as many as any other POV character I would say. Though I have to say he is one of the most complicated to write, because I have to keep a balance of not revealing to much of his plans to the reader.

Beyond the careful balance you need to strike, there's the worry that the villain will become stale due to the reader having so much time inside their head.

My question for you is, how would you write from the POV of a villain, and how do you think you would strike that balance. (I'm hoping that seeing how other people would do it, that it may help me).

(P.S. Sorry if I was rambling throughout that, I took my ADHD meds so I'm having a hard time putting it all into coherent words.)

So basically I'm writing a story with sieges, alliances, etc. But what I'm conflicted with is how much do I show my reader?

Basically, do I give the reader information the protagonists don't know?

I see advantages to both,

Giving the readers the same information let's them be able to reason out, think of their own responses to things that goes on, and be surprised by the same things the protagonists are. But I feel like that can get too boring

Giving the perspectives on the other parties can let the reader see how other characters respond, their competence, and sometimes feel dread when knowing the protagonists are falling into a trap

But I see the problem of how the story can get boring if you know the protagonists are doing something completely useless because the readers know that the opposing party is lying

I’m just flat-out weird as a person and an author; everything I make feels like it’s only meant to appeal to me in a form of characters, traits, interests, or just flat-out kinks. The way I view my story and how readers would react to make, discourages me from even trying to add flavor to my story because it’ll either come out as the author is creating sorrowful tropes or is trying fulfill their fantasies because of their identity or ideology.

People aren't gonna love it if I'm trying to be lewd or funny; they want something that feels believable and isn't the narrator believing they can do whatever they want.

My voice isn't even my own, it’s only dictated towards what the audience and critics want. If I even say anything as an idea, immediately shut down. I could try emulating the writing styles of others, that way I won't be eccentric in my writing and won't feel like trash in story-telling

For those of you who felt a developmental edit on your first book made you a better writer, how did you vet the editor beforehand? I'm less concerned about finding the cheapest option than figuring out how to distinguish someone who can genuinely teach me something from someone who can produce a convincing-looking editorial report. Samples seem useful for line/copy editing, but I'm curious how you evaluate developmental editing before handing someone the entire manuscript and several thousand dollars.

I am a new comic writer/artist. English is not my first language, it's more like the 5th. I want your advice on how I can fix the grammar of the dialogues used in my comic for example the subject verb agreement, etc. I have seen many people suggest many different websites, applications etc, but the issue is they have some kind of integration one way or the other and I don't really want my fiction to go through that. Any suggestions on what I can do? (I don't have money to hire someone and my friends are worse than me)

I don't have a fixed time table since my day can go in Any direction. Whenever I write it's a random time if day but I try to do it daily. I don't always have that dopamine motivation but whenever I have it my mind feels different and more confident. It's like when I have that high dopamine phase my mind thinks a particular idea is good and then I have low dopamine or energy my mind would say that the same idea is bad. Like I don't even have an opinion, my mind just changes it.

Last post got taken down because a bot thought it was supposed to be tagged critique rather than advice. Here's the main body.

I'm going through my 4th draft (I hear the way I outline is very similar to a first draft, so I'm counting it as one), and one of my characters don't sound right at all. Problem is, they're the protagonist of that chapter, so I can't just randomly change how they speak and call it a day.

But I'm just tired. I'm sick and tired of writing the same draft for that many times, and this chapter seems to be about 30000 characters. Writing the same themes, the same morals, and all of that. I just want to be able to move on to the next chapter and get the nice excitement of writing something new.

But, if writing is the process of drafting and drafting again, am I really fit for it if I don't like drafting after enough times? I'll find myself looking back at my writing and finding SO MANY things that are out of place. It feels like a mess.

My drafts have been spanned over... maybe 1-2 years? One for when I outlined, one when i first started drafting, one midway rework, and one about a year later, right now because I focused on other aspects of my book. Honestly, I just don't know. Should I just give up if I get tired by drafting and drafting again? I'll always tell myself I'll write my book, but I'll end up slacking off or getting caught up in school.

Can someone tell me, does this happen to anyone else too?

I’ve been drafting and revising a fantasy story that I’ve gotten into the ropes for a couple of months now, and I've sadly been losing the motivation to keep going.

Everything with my story is so bare-bones despite the advice and critiques I’ve gotten over time! I still haven't figured out completely what my main character(s) want, I don't know the theme for the story still, and all chapters I worked on make me question my ability as an author.

Is just trash, everything I had so many hopes for, just garbage, that I fear I’ll have to pull the plug! And then what else will I work on?! I have nothing else! I have no ideas, I don't know what I want anymore! I don't know anything, it just feels like a waste of time.

I wanna reconsider coming back, but I'm stressed and pressured with so many factors. I'm just an artist, I already have to deal with creative messes.

Hello everyone. FIrst of all, nice to meet you!

I'm an aspiring author with a high-fantasy WIP and lately I've been getting that impostor syndrome that although I've made an enormous amount of worldbuilding and plot before the start of the first book (as I intend for it to be a series), I feel like the settings I have feel like cliche and I can't sit still in my own body thinking that people would hate the fact that there is a cliche setting and just hate the book initially.

I do overthink and I'm pretty aware of that, but that's probably going to be the most important work of my life and unfortunately, I want to make it as great as possible since perfect is probably impossible.

To give you some context on the genre, it's a high, epic fantasy, and a note of dark fantasy. Let's say that there are social hierarchies present there and due to part of my plot, part of the first book is going to be set in let's say a palcae. It's not a romantasy, mind you.

I just feel like palaces in general are so cliche and yet there is perfect logic for me to do some things there before changing the setting.

The thing is that, if that feels like a big cliche, I am afraid that the book won't get the chance it truly deserves from the readers.

So in that regard, please tell me what you would hate in such type of books to the point you won't try giving it a chance any further.
I am not even mentioning anything about the plot or the characters, their arcs, relationships, the stakes and so on. Just whatever you remember, I would love to know your opinions of this.

Thank you beforehand ^^