Questions from a nooby, hobbyist "writer."

[gunhilltrain]

Factoids are useful to me though. Several answers have actually set me straight and made me realize some of the stuff about my writing that I was worried was bad writing, might not have been.

And it's settled the topic of whether or not I should publish as I write or wait until I have a huge amount to trickle down a consistent basis. At least it let me understand pros and cons, and that either can be good, depending on whatever I feel is more convenient when I cross that bridge.

Interestingly, it's getting easier, bit by bit, to write more consistently now. Maybe habit is forming? We'll see if I can keep it going! > : D

Also, the opinions and tips are useful to me. It gives me more ideas and approaches to try out and experiment.

Even if turns out not exactly what I need at that moment, you never know when or if that tip could be useful in a future writing endeavor. That's the way I see it.

I'm eating up all the info I can here. Now to get back to my real job! I'll be back later to check thread.

Oh, and yeah, it's practically an entire chapter, it might even get to 4000+ when I'm done(but I'm editing out stuff as well to shorten parts so we'll see page count in the end). It's why I'm thinking of sliding a diversionary chapter in between the first and second part(second part almost done)

My impression, from the content and tone of your posts, is that you are in a "hyper" mode right now. The reason I suggested the support groups, among other things, is that there are surely other writers there who can relate directly to your experiences. They may be better people to discuss all this with. I can only understand this second-hand because my problems are of an entirely different nature. I don't mean to suggest that you shouldn't talk on here too, but most of us can only grasp so much of what you're experiencing. I hope you don't take that as a personal criticism, but rather as an assessment (yes, a guess on my part) of what is possible here.

 

[Jmanchu]

My impression, from the content and tone of your posts, is that you are in a "hyper" mode right now. The reason I suggested the support groups, among other things, is that there are surely other writers there who can relate directly to your experiences. They may be better people to discuss all this with. I can only understand this second-hand because my problems are of an entirely different nature. I don't mean to suggest that you shouldn't talk on here too, but most of us can only grasp so much of what you're experiencing. I hope you don't take that as a personal criticism, but rather as an assessment (yes, a guess on my part) of what is possible here.

Ah, I gotcha. I'll look into them ADHD groups sometime, then. Yes, I might be in "hyper" mode... Is it that obvious? lol I'm more predictable than I thought.

Well, I just wanna make sure to that there is no misunderstanding:

I joke a bit about my ADHD diagnosis, but I mean it in the "The inside of my head is a tv station controlled by a super intelligent chimpanzee switching constantly switching channels between cartoons and other goodies that turn kids brains into mush."

As in the fun parts, ya know?

I didn't to mean make it sound like it's some sort of cry for help or anything if that's how it came out as, though I do appreciate the concern y'all. But it's alright, me and my spaced out ADHD inner child do have a kind of understanding with each other and alright dynamic going, though.

I'll tone down the ADD references from now on, didn't mean to make you guys uncomfortable or super concerned for me. Although, tips for dealing with procrastination and encouragement to buckle down never hurt nobody. I appreciate that too.

P.S. Oh! when I mention people's personal experiences, I mean writing experiences when making their stories concerning how they handled these writing questions I asked(which there have been many great ones from different perspectives, which I was actually hoping for), not necessarily their struggles with their spaced out demons or lack thereof. :|

 

[gunhilltrain]

Ah, I gotcha. I'll look into them ADHD groups sometime, then. Yes, I might be in "hyper" mode... Is it that obvious? lol I'm more predictable than I thought.

Well, I just wanna make sure to that there is no misunderstanding:

I joke a bit about my ADHD diagnosis, but I mean it in the "The inside of my head is a tv station controlled by a super intelligent chimpanzee switching constantly switching channels between cartoons and other goodies that turn kids brains into mush."

As in the fun parts, ya know?

I didn't to mean make it sound like it's some sort of cry for help or anything if that's how it came out as, though I do appreciate the concern y'all. But it's alright, me and my spaced out ADHD inner child do have a kind of understanding with each other and alright dynamic going, though.

I'll tone down the ADD references from now on, didn't mean to make you guys uncomfortable or super concerned for me. Although, tips for dealing with procrastination and encouragement to buckle down never hurt nobody. I appreciate that too.

P.S. Oh! when I mention people's personal experiences, I mean writing experiences when making their stories concerning how they handled these writing questions I asked(which there have been many great ones from different perspectives, which I was actually hoping for), not necessarily their struggles with their spaced out demons or lack thereof. :|

Well, yes, sorry, it is rather obvious. You are not making me uncomfortable. Nor am I super-concerned for you - that is not my responsibility - but I'm finding it impossible to do much more than I've already said. Some of the metaphors that you using - like the super-intelligent chimpanzee in your head that you referred to above - are quite amusing. It would be great if you could use some of that ability to actually publish something, but I don't think we can help you much at this time in this forum.

 

[Jmanchu]

Well, yes, sorry, it is rather obvious. You are not making me uncomfortable. Nor am I super-concerned for you - that is not my responsibility - but I'm finding it impossible to do much more than I've already said. Some of the metaphors that you using - like the super-intelligent chimpanzee in your head that you referred to above - are quite amusing. It would be great if you could use some of that ability to actually publish something, but I don't think we can help you much at this time in this forum.

You guys were already plenty of help. In fact I'm in the middle of pushing a different story I started a long time ago but only had An incomplete chapter for it. Finished the chapter and have been looking at editing forum for someone to look at(already got reply). Got motivation from this thread via the advice of you all so I can have at least something published while I work on the other story(even if it's only a first chapter). Get those publishing wheels rolling at least a little bit to start right?

So, While I work on my main story, I'll just dump off some chapters of my old unfinished ones on here. Sounds good, right?

 

[gunhilltrain]

With all due respect, despite whatever help we've been giving you, I still see a lot of wheel-spinning going on. I don't know if it sounds good or not, because I can't keep track of what you're doing.

I'm not trying to brag - but I have a 9,000-word stand-alone story that is probably going on another site to start with. I see I finished the first draft on June 6. I think it mostly just needs another proofreading or two and then it will be posted. According to Word, it was created on June 3, but I thought it took longer than that.

Anyway, it's only got two main characters, it takes place over the course of maybe five hours, and the settings are all on two sides of one city block Keep It Simple, as I said.

I decided to start the first sequel yesterday. I wrote 1,800 words. It's on the very next day, and it takes place in the same locations. I introduced one new character, and there was a discussion about a fourth character who will likely appear probably in the next chapter. I deliberately didn't make it into a series, because I wanted the option of creating it on the fly, so to speak. The readers can follow along at whatever pace I set.

You don't have to do it that way, of course. The point is to get something done in a reasonable timeframe. (I actually like it so far). Will the chimpanzee in your head allow you to do that?

 

[SimonDoom]

You guys were already plenty of help. In fact I'm in the middle of pushing a different story I started a long time ago but only had An incomplete chapter for it. Finished the chapter and have been looking at editing forum for someone to look at(already got reply). Got motivation from this thread via the advice of you all so I can have at least something published while I work on the other story(even if it's only a first chapter). Get those publishing wheels rolling at least a little bit to start right?

So, While I work on my main story, I'll just dump off some chapters of my old unfinished ones on here. Sounds good, right?

It's like the Nike slogan: Just do it. There's no substitute. I'm a big noodler, and I waste plenty of time thinking about writing rather than just writing, so I can sympathize with that. But you just have to give it a go and see what happens. One foot in front of the other. I've published 51 stories in five and a half years despite my noodling, and that number amazes me. It's less than one story per month, but over time it adds up.

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's like the Nike slogan: Just do it. There's no substitute. I'm a big noodler, and I waste plenty of time thinking about writing rather than just writing, so I can sympathize with that. But you just have to give it a go and see what happens. One foot in front of the other. I've published 51 stories in five and a half years despite my noodling, and that number amazes me. It's less than one story per month, but over time it adds up.

He's absolutely right, Jmanchu. World-building: for that story I mentioned, I just picked for one setting the church I went to while growing up. Why create a fictional church when I already knew one? (I didn't mention the name or even exactly where it is.) It turned out to have exactly the layout that would work for me. There were three buildings and the one in the middle was demolished in the 1960s for a new school auditorium. (The future plans for that are mentioned in the story.)

So far, I've only written minimal descriptions of what these buildings looked like. No need to go all Updike on it to start. I can add a little more as I go along. Keep it simple and just do it.

 

[Jmanchu]

With all due respect, despite whatever help we've been giving you, I still see a lot of wheel-spinning going on. I don't know if it sounds good or not, because I can't keep track of what you're doing.

I'm not trying to brag - but I have a 9,000-word stand-alone story that is probably going on another site to start with. I see I finished the first draft on June 6. I think it mostly just needs another proofreading or two and then it will be posted. According to Word, it was created on June 3, but I thought it took longer than that.

Anyway, it's only got two main characters, it takes place over the course of maybe five hours, and the settings are all on two sides of one city block Keep It Simple, as I said.

I decided to start the first sequel yesterday. I wrote 1,800 words. It's on the very next day, and it takes place in the same locations. I introduced one new character, and there was a discussion about a fourth character who will likely appear probably in the next chapter. I deliberately didn't make it into a series, because I wanted the option of creating it on the fly, so to speak. The readers can follow along at whatever pace I set.

You don't have to do it that way, of course. The point is to get something done in a reasonable timeframe. (I actually like it so far). Will the chimpanzee in your head allow you to do that?

That's a good point. Long as you give him bananas, lots of coffee, and old 90's Nickelodeon cartoons, he's good. When I buckle down AND I have time that number goes from one day, maybe 200-600 words(bad days, I don't talk about my 1 or 2 really bad days), to 2000+(productive days)... or more(my high score in a day is about 10,000+).

And with your post, I realized that the page counts I make aren't bad. I've been shooting for an impossibly high average that I HAD to keep, but couldn't. That number I think is unreasonable now(7000+, I don't know why.)

Also, I should practice writing simple plots. Half my stories that start as short stories always end up the start of a proper novel instead :|

Also, I've considered getting my main story looked at(the first few scenes, or first two "chapters")

 

[Jmanchu]

It's like the Nike slogan: Just do it. There's no substitute. I'm a big noodler, and I waste plenty of time thinking about writing rather than just writing, so I can sympathize with that. But you just have to give it a go and see what happens. One foot in front of the other. I've published 51 stories in five and a half years despite my noodling, and that number amazes me. It's less than one story per month, but over time it adds up.

That's me to a T, I waste a lot of time thinking about the story instead of writing.

And one foot in front of the other, is what I'm going for now. Just do it, right

I'm waiting to see the response on the start of that other story(Someone is looking at it right now for second pair of eyes for grammar, and I'm holdin my breath)

I'm publishing this one and seeing how that goes, before I go and decide to post more.

 

[gunhilltrain]

That's me to a T, I waste a lot of time thinking about the story instead of writing.

And one foot in front of the other, is what I'm going for now. Just do it, right

I'm waiting to see the response on the start of that other story(Someone is looking at it right now for second pair of eyes for grammar, and I'm holdin my breath)

I'm publishing this one and seeing how that goes, before I go and decide to post more.

Okay, so you do have something with this person on the case. For myself, I just use Grammarly and my own proofreading, ah, abilities. Perhaps that's not for you.

Just asking: is this person just reading for grammar or is he/she going to make comments on content too? If it's the former, you could just make the corrections and then I assume you are almost good to go? Actually, you should be good to go if that is the case.

 

[Jmanchu]

Okay, so you do have something with this person on the case. For myself, I just use Grammarly and my own proofreading, ah, abilities. Perhaps that's not for you.

Just asking: is this person just reading for grammar or is he/she going to make comments on content too? If it's the former, you could just make the corrections and then I assume you are almost good to go? Actually, you should be good to go if that is the case.

Well, I did say "feedback wanted and suggestions are welcome as well" in my post over at the editor forum. Speaking of proofreading, I did catch grammatical errors after I sent(mostly missed commas, but a missed word at the beginning... etc.), but I'm not going to mull over it until the person I have looking at it says their piece on it(I did do a couple quick edits, though).

 

[gunhilltrain]

Well, I did say "feedback wanted and suggestions are welcome as well" in my post over at the editor forum. Speaking of proofreading, I did catch grammatical errors after I sent(mostly missed commas, but a missed word at the beginning... etc.), but I'm not going to mull over it until the person I have looking at it says their piece on it(I did do a couple quick edits, though).

Grammarly does check for comma usage, but as I said before - I don't think it gets everything right and it sometimes makes suggestions in a "robotic" way. That's because, as I also said, it's software, not AI (which doesn't truly exist now). For myself, I don't have a perfect grasp of all the rules about commas, but probably enough to make judgment calls about Grammarly.

Misspelled words are probably what most jumps out to readers. Also, mistakes about "it's" versus "its," "your" versus "you're," and so forth can slip through. On my very first story, somebody caught that I had used "causal" instead of "casual." Grammarly wants me to write "In my very first story . . ." I think my version is acceptable and it has a slightly different meaning.

Grammarly also dislikes "actually" and "in fact," although those will be marked as blue suggestions rather than red errors. I don't always remove them, but it helps me to avoid overuse of them.

So see what this person comes up with. "Feedback" and "suggestions" go beyond mere proofreading, but it's ultimately your story and you have the final say about the content.

(Grammarly wants me to change "So" to "To" in the above sentence. Grammarly is obviously wrong there because it can't really think as I said.)

 

[Jmanchu]

Grammarly does check for comma usage, but as I said before - I don't think it gets everything right and it sometimes makes suggestions in a "robotic" way. That's because, as I also said, it's software, not AI (which doesn't truly exist now). For myself, I don't have a perfect grasp of all the rules about commas, but probably enough to make judgment calls about Grammarly.

Misspelled words are probably what most jumps out to readers. Also, mistakes about "it's" versus "its," "your" versus "you're," and so forth can slip through. On my very first story, somebody caught that I had used "causal" instead of "casual." Grammarly wants me to write "In my very first story . . ." I think my version is acceptable and it has a slightly different meaning.

Grammarly also dislikes "actually" and "in fact," although those will be marked as blue suggestions rather than red errors. I don't always remove them, but it helps me to avoid overuse of them.

So see what this person comes up with. "Feedback" and "suggestions" go beyond mere proofreading, but it's ultimately your story and you have the final say about the content.

(Grammarly wants me to change "So" to "To" in the above sentence. Grammarly is obviously wrong there because it can't really think as I said.)

Yeah, that's why whenver I sometimes pull out Grammarly I usually see its highlights as a suggestion to at least look at. It has messed me over one too many times with its minor flaws in its robot logic whenever I've blindly trusted it.

My editor/proofreader already has made some pretty amazing rewrites to the writing style so far(especially since all I did with it was shorten parts of it. It had the writing style I used to go for before "concision" became an obsession), some serious edits and a couple minor rewrites to details that add a little pizazz to the scene.

I can't wait to see what it'll look like when it's done. She seems to be keeping the feel I'm going for but added with her style as wel, which works nicely.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah, that's why whenver I sometimes pull out Grammarly I usually see its highlights as a suggestion to at least look at. It has messed me over one too many times with its minor flaws in its robot logic whenever I've blindly trusted it.

My editor/proofreader already has made some pretty amazing rewrites to the writing style so far(especially since all I did with it was shorten parts of it. It had the writing style I used to go for before "concision" became an obsession), some serious edits and a couple minor rewrites to details that add a little pizazz to the scene.

I can't wait to see what it'll look like when it's done. She seems to be keeping the feel I'm going for but added with her style as wel, which works nicely.

I always use Grammarly even though I don't just blindly trust it. I guess I trust my own judgment enough to feel I can handle its flaws.

I was, well, hoping to hear that she was just proofreading it, not editing it further at this point. It slows things down, but, oh well. I don't know if I have a style or not, but I've never (well, maybe once) incorporated someone else's style.

"Concision is an obsession?" Tell that to the late David Foster Wallace.

 

[Jmanchu]

I always use Grammarly even though I don't just blindly trust it. I guess I trust my own judgment enough to feel I can handle its flaws.

I was, well, hoping to hear that she was just proofreading it, not editing it further at this point. It slows things down, but, oh well. I don't know if I have a style or not, but I've never (well, maybe once) incorporated someone else's style.

"Concision is an obsession?" Tell that to the late David Foster Wallace.

Yeah. I stopped blindly trusting it years ago after it gave some not so good suggestions, and almost any program that has an autocorrect(Sometimes they just don't even have the words you're using, marking it in red, and you are left scratching your head thinking "I'm sure I'm spelling it right!" or "I'm sure That word exists!").

Well... I crossed that bridge already, so i'll see what happens. Also, I even am writing up "chapter 2" of the story, which will be done after a final scene for it is written. So I'm making some work while. Distraction from my main story, I know, but I couldn't help myself.

I do want to say that all of you guys have been a huge help and I really do appreciate the support I've gotten here. Really. Thanks everyone.

David Foster Wallace? Will look up that. Any good novel suggestions from him?

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah. I stopped blindly trusting it years ago after it gave some not so good suggestions, and almost any program that has an autocorrect(Sometimes they just don't even have the words you're using, marking it in red, and you are left scratching your head thinking "I'm sure I'm spelling it right!" or "I'm sure That word exists!").

Well... I crossed that bridge already, so i'll see what happens. Also, I even am writing up "chapter 2" of the story, which will be done after a final scene for it is written. So I'm making some work while. Distraction from my main story, I know, but I couldn't help myself.

I do want to say that all of you guys have been a huge help and I really do appreciate the support I've gotten here. Really. Thanks everyone.

David Foster Wallace? Will look up that. Any good novel suggestions from him?

Just my opinion: but you are taking so long with doing it as a chaptered series. But if that's what you have, then you have to go with it.

David Foster Wallace was better at non-fiction than fiction, in my view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_I%27ll_Never_Do_Again

Consider The Lobster

His signature novel is over a thousand pages long and seems to have an extremely complicated structure. I haven't touched it, and probably never will.

Infinite Jest

 

[Jmanchu]

Dunno if you know of it or not, but How to ADHD on YouTube has been a great resource for my husband in managing his diagnosis. Not every suggestion works for him but some have greatly improved things.

Thanks! I'll check it out sometime! Any vid recommendation?

 

[Jmanchu]

Just my opinion: but you are taking so long with doing it as a chaptered series. But if that's what you have, then you have to go with it.

David Foster Wallace was better at non-fiction than fiction, in my view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Supposedly_Fun_Thing_I%27ll_Never_Do_Again

Consider The Lobster

His signature novel is over a thousand pages long and seems to have an extremely complicated structure. I haven't touched it, and probably never will.

Infinite Jest

Ah. Well, I'm getting there

And I'll definitely check out them books

 

[Jmanchu]

I have a lot of favorite authors and stories so it's hard to list them all but a few include:

J.R.R Tolkien - The Hobbit and LOTR, also Silmarillion
Jonathan Stroud - Bartimaeus
Andrzej Sapkowski - The Witcher(First book)
Frietz Lieber - The Three Swords
Brent Weeks - Night Angel Trilogy
Conan The Barbarian - Robert Howard
Frank Herbert - Dune

I like also mythological tales and very old school classics:
The Odyssey
Poetic Edda
Celtic mythology in general(I have a book, Chronicles of the Celts)
Aztec Mythology
Japanese mythologies

Other Fiction(nonfantasy) Authors:
Steven King
Vince Flynn
Daniel Silva

Choosing just one author? That's tougher:

I could go with Tolkien since I think he knew the perfect recipe for merging what made captivating the classic stories of mythologies and heroic adventures with his vision of a fantasy setting and his prose reflected that merger of an old epic mythological storytelling with more modern(at the time modern) language. A lot of fantasy stories written in modern day just don't have that same simple but effective flavor of magic and classic sense of grand adventure that Tolkien had in his storytelling, in my opinion. His fantasy formula is obviously so groundbreaking that you can't really speak about fantasy fiction today without referencing him in some way. Just about everyone who does some sort of fantasy today, especially medieval inspired fantasy, has been influenced or inspired in some way by the saga of Middle Earth and the characters. Any story of a big, bad evil guy raising an army of darkness? Guaranteed to be inspired by Sauron. An important artifact of power that could potentially destroy or save the world? Like the Ring of Power. Or how about DnD with orcs and halflings(hobbits), etc? And DnD inspires a lot of of fantasy stories today and they were heavily inspired by Tolkien. Tolkien is the big daddy of today's Fantasy genre everywhere.

I could pick Robert E Howard instead for his simple, but very imaginative fantasy setting and storytelling that had also a very classic sense of adventure and danger. Stories were simple and never overly complicated with raw action and brutal stories. Stories of savage civilizations, ruthless and ambitious wizards and kings, and a brutal main character that was over the top and got shit done. The way he wrote stories was epic short story fantasy fiction. Simple stories all bound together loosely to tell the various adventures of Conan in an anthology. Simple, straightforward, and filled with action and adventure. Every chapter. And Conan, as a main character, inspired the fantasy savage barbarian trope swinging a gigantic two handed sword or battle-axe in just a loincloth. That's how impressionable Rob Howard's main character was. And the setting of the Hyborian Age inspired DnD's Darksun to name a few due to how badass it was.

Or Jonathan Stroud's Bartimaeus, a more modern fantasy fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed. Storytelling, Prose, Pacing, sarcastic humor when it wants to be, but taking itself seriously enough when it needs to be, ect. All done just right to make a good read. If there is anyone who enjoys witty, snarky humor in their fantasy and they're a fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter I'd recommend Bartimaeus. Bartimeaus is a modern classic which I'm surprised that there aren't serious adaptations of in the same vein that Harry Potter and other popular fantasies have gotten. It's that good.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Sorry for the incoming wall of text. I've been on this site amongst other writing sites for a while, mainly as a lurker, and occasional reader. I've always enjoyed the hobby of writing stories(that I've never published, or finished :| ) and reading.

The last couple of years have been some busy years so I stopped having the time to write. Now, with some free time in between my personal life I've gotten back into writing.

There's one story I'm working on(Grimdark-ish, Sword and Sorcery Fantasy setting) where I've written enough, so far, to be able to break down into 2 or more full length chapters( about 96,000 characters, or over 18,000 words so far, and counting), and by the this story is going, it'll probably be the length of a full fantasy novel set, even post edit.

You don't have to answer every single question if you feel up to replying to only some, if you just want to answer only one, totally cool with me, but here are my questions:

1. Is it better to write the story more completely before separating the story into chapters and uploading it in installments, even waiting until it's almost finished? Or should it matter at all?

I have enough of my story written down to be able to separate it into 2 or 3 full installments.

Depending on how much free time and how well I get into the zone when writing, and if I can stay out of the self-editing circle of Writer's Limbo.

sometimes I can get a lot done in a week. Sometimes, I barely get any progress.

I don't know how consistently I'd be able to keep up with finishing a new chapter, especially weekly, or bi-monthly, or even monthly. Is that something someone who posts online should be worried about? Or even think about?

2. As a general "rule," is important to focus on writing "well" and being as "professional" in your prose as possible to write a "good story?" Or is it fine to focus on writing on "your story" your way first, and only really use the rules and tips of good writing and avoiding "bad writing" as a guideline?

Even if it means it might not come out as professional or cleanly written?

Of course that doesn't mean that if I get editorial help here or if if readers offer tips I will just ignore constructive criticism, especially if the constructive criticism helps to either make my story more concise and readable.

Nor do I have such a big head that I won't humbly accept a suggestion or tip that either improves what I'm trying to go for, or even a rewriting suggestion that is superior to how I write a part of the story, as I know my writing skills are amateur at best.

But I want to stay in the category of writing "my story" more than a "good story," though I really want to hear thoughts on this.

3. Which comes to the topic of my second question: Expositions... how bad are they, really? And is going by "I like/don't like what I'm reading" a reliable indicator of if your story is passable reading material or not?

The ugly side of fantasy fiction and technically bad writing.

I know there will be readers that will skip a story if there's exposition, but I don't mind(I'm writing "my stories") but how do you know if there's too much exposition? I'd like to hear all opinions on the general matter.

Anyways, my initial approach was thinking somewhere along the lines of if I have trouble reading and re-reading story after taking a week's plus break, then, that's a sign to edit out or shorten the parts that make me lose attention(the ADHD kid in me makes for a decent editor, sometimes).

I also edit out exposition that I feel becomes unnecessary, either because the story later shows it(and I am sometimes still doing as I'm writing the story), I see a way to show not tell, or it just doesn't serve well even as foreshadowing or explaining some lore efficiently.

I'm still left with a lot of exposition sometimes despite me actually enjoying what I'm reading so far (which I'm sure there still are parts in there too boring or unnecessary to read). I fear there could be strong bias when I feel like I'm enjoying what I have so far, even though I know it's far from perfect.

The final question in regards to exposition. Dialogue exposition... always a sin of writing? Or a permissible form of expository use? I don't use on purpose or try to sneak in exposition through dialogue, but sometimes what the characters say to each other in the story could count as "exposition" technically sometimes, even though I don't feel like comes out unnaturally(ie. unnaturally as in two characters awkwardly having the infamous "As you know, Bob..." convo).

I’ll answer all three and give my two cents, although with 121 replies I’m sure all you’re getting is my condensed version of someone’s better advice.

One thing I will do is alter the order of the questions as this will make more sense.

2. Getting the writing down IS being professional. Don’t worry so much about grammar or fancy wording at the stage where your blocking in the story. Don’t get it right, get it written.

Which then brings us back to question 1.

1. Finish the story. Don’t partly do it or nearly do it. Get it finished. You can always edit like a maniac between posting it once it’s fully written.

And finally 3.

3. Exposition is hard. Avoid dumps and long scrawls. Give just enough through dialogue and character that we know where we are and what is happening. Build worlds through these two methods with healthy doses of description where necessary.

And 4…break a leg.

 

[Jmanchu]

Yoo, don't worry about it. just send the tips over my way, I love to read all the quality advice from y'all here at this forum I can get whether DM's or posts. And I still get plenty of quality advice to this day. much appreciated.

That's plan right now, when life aint making me busy. Just write it. 48,000 words now, and I barely even started the story, slowly but surely. I've also got another story that is pretty much final draft ready, except for the sex scene which I don't know how I want to rewrite, and it's been sitting there in writing limbo for months, but I digress. I've been getting caught in the bad habit of editing for the story of the topic here as it comes along before finishing it, rewriting hell a lot(There are a lot of scenes I want to re-write and make different, take out completely, or shorten. I'm editing like a maniac already as we speak). I've almost got a starting rough draft ready with what little I do have as a pre-alpha product demo of the story for some people who've been keeping up with this story, just to show the idea of what I do have going.

I've slowly worked out a lot of the exposition(except for a few chapters that I've yet to go through the proper full rewrite/edit mode treatment. which I'll have it be looked at when I get that "pre-alpha" done).

And thanks, I'll go back to writing break some legs like a mafia don.