General Advice

[BelleCanzuto]

I am working on my first "pantsing" story right now. I'm almost 3000 words into it and haven't either written the ending or attempted to create a bullet-point outline yet. That's unheard-of for me. It's challenging but I'm going to give it a go. Mentally, of course, I am looking ahead and imagining how the story will end, but I'm trying scrupulously not to commit anything to writing before it happens. We'll see how it goes.

Welcome to the dark side, Simon. We have cookies.

Next thing you know, you'll be tossing out unverified and/or meaningless statistics and gettin' all fancy free with yer adverbs and whatnot...

 

[SimonDoom]

Next thing you know, you'll be tossing out unverified and/or meaningless statistics and gettin' all fancy free with yer adverbs and whatnot...

Ye Gods. Don't say that.

 

[Voboy]

Welcome to the dark side, Simon. We have cookies.

Next thing you know, you'll be tossing out unverified and/or meaningless statistics and gettin' all fancy free with yer adverbs and whatnot...

Mmhmm.

The cookies are good, too.

 

[SisterJezabel]

Welcome! So much awesome advice!

Don't be afraid to re-read something and delete it either. Self editing can be hard, but can really help with the writing process. I usually have either a character or a situation in mind when I start. I don't think any of my stories have panned out as I imagined, except for the first one which was really bad, but I've left it up as a reminder!

Also, don't be put off by criticism- some people will love everything you write and you may attract a following of commenters who say similar things all the time. Some people will just comment to tell you they think you're crap! Similar with scoring! It depends on the genre.

 

[davion2308]

General Rules

The best rule is to write for yourself. If you're enjoying this, keep doing it. If you're not, make a change.

Put words down, write a story, see where it goes. I'm a planner and I like to outline start to finish before I fill out the words of the story.

Others, Stephen King for example, have an idea of a situation and then see where it progresses.

You don't need one or the other to be 'successful' and creating something you enjoy, good or bad, is the most successful any of us can be.

Write, let the story marinate for a week, and then go read it. Edit it or change it if you want. Keep it if you like it.

You're literally creating out of thin air so the rules aren't important so much as your joy while you do it.

Enjoy!

 

[gunhilltrain]

The beauty of being creative is that, unless you're doing it for money, you can afford to be picky about quality. If it ain't good enough, it ain't good enough. Move on to the next one.

If something is not working out, get back to it later - maybe months later. Keep the file so you can revisit it.

Another welcome

The one thing I wished I had done before posting my first story was reading more widely here, just to see what else people were doing. My first stories would have been better if I had done so.

I have taken some of my older stories, rewritten them - sometimes extensively - and posted them on another site. Usually I let a year or more go by before attempting that. I do think they got better the second time around.

I hope you have a satisfying experience here!

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

...Don't be afraid to re-read something and delete it either. Self editing can be hard, but can really help with the writing process...

So true! So painfully true. It's downright painful to cut a beautifully written scene that you're really pleased with because it has nothing to do with the story. If it's left in, though, the reader isn't going to be oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the clever turns of phrase or beautifully scripted dialog or choreography. The reader's going to be scratching their head and wondering where the story's going.

My rule is that if I keep thinking about it in the bath, it has to go because it means that somewhere in the back of my brain, I know not to include the scene, even if I've made justifications for it in the front of my mind. The bathtub is my cutting room. Weird? Or are all of us doing our editing in the tub and shower?

 

[Brutal_One]

I think it’s nice to get started and just get published. My initial story submissions are part of one going story arc. Arguably I could have combined into one longer submission but I was editing a much longer non published story so the smaller submissions allowed me time to edit.

Category I did not appreciate too can be important. I guess this makes sense as readers will search for your story in the category that most interests them so it can be good to review all the categories. It was a simple mistake by me at the start.

It will feel good to get your first story published. It may not be your best work but it is the start that is important.

As you are already aware there are super supportive people here who will try and give good insights and advice.

Final point - it will be your story, nobody else’s so be your own critic. It’s almost certain the more you write the better your stories will become and that’s a comforting thought. Good luck.

Brutal One