Writer's Block Daily

Maybe if you posted some lines, we could get a better idea of what the issue is. There are about five million ways to make a character sound creepy, unless we know which one it is, we can't tell you what to look out for.
Any lines in particular somebody found creepy?

The way I do it is by self-deprecation. Few people think you're creepy if you make fun of yourself. Jokes at your own expense cover up a multitude of sins...

I just remembered. There was an article yesterday in the newspaper about a book recently gone to print after being self-published online for a long time.

The kicker? The writer is saying all advantages are going towards self-publishers. I'll find the article in a bit.

edited 22nd Mar '13 9:18:47 AM by MajorTom

I need to figure out something for a character to do besides be a Morality Pet...

Article I mentioned. Partially paywalled so I'll give you the skinny. Guy is basically saying the cost of self-publishing is trending towards zero which gives little reason to go the traditional publishing route.

What are your thoughts on that? Is he right? I think he is.

@Major Tom: Without having done any systematic research, my impression is that self-publishing has become a marketing technique- it's a way to create some buzz so that an more mainstream e-book publisher notices you.

I'd prefer the traditional publishing route so I could get some good editors! I'll jump through the hoops if that's what it'll take so I can make sure the story is the best it can be.

There are plenty of for-hire editors for self-published authors, but they cost money.

WRITING NIGHTMARES IS FUN.

I am not sure if the fact that the option for traditional publishing is pretty much closed for me in my WIP is good or bad...

The only problem I can think of offhand about self-publishing is that the whole process of a work being evaluated by a publisher is lost, meaning that, well, anything can be published. Without a means to screen works for quality, There Is No Such Thing As Notability and Sturgeon's Law take effect.

At least in the present model of self-publication. The Internet age is causing the whole industry to change rapidly, and the near future may see an entirely different way of doing things.

Hence, Fifty Shades Of Grey.

Fifty Shades Of Grey was very popular self-published and was therefore picked up by a traditional publisher and made a lot of money. It seems like the book would be a strike AGAINST traditional publishing, not for it.

Where do I begin...well I am developing a story that's probably not too original summed up but that's one of the reason's I came to the forums. This might be a little long, sorry...

Anyways, it involves a young boy and his grandfather on an Italian farm in Sicily. There they find a feral girl who is gifted with a form of plasma creation she calls "natural magic". As the boy subdues her with martial arts, she admits defeat as she tells him and his grandpa that martial arts is what a "mysterious magic instructor" said she needed to improve her magic. This sets them on a journey over the summer that involves traveling throughout Italy and ideally ending the trip at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The story focuses on the relation between various martial arts and my version of magic, and while a lot more changes to the story happen, I leave as this setup for now, to keep things easier for the transition.

Well that's my first post here, I hope I can talk about improvements to my story and maybe help out any other new writers with their ideas.

What is your story's time frame?

The story mainly takes place in modern times, the part that talked about is set somewhere after 2003, but before the 2010 era. The idea is that I wanted smartphones as their communication device in the story, but not necessarily take place when everyone had a smart phone yet.

Random rambling.

I don't know but I really like the streotypical Oxford, Australian, and Scottish accents so much nowadays.

What are the long term effects of getting dreadlocks? Can you un-dreadlock them? Or do you have to cut them off?

Dreadlocks are essentially felted hair. As a knitter I know that you can't "unfelt" objects — so yeah I'm pretty sure you would have to cut them off.

instructions on how to get rid of dreadlocks. You don't have to like shave your head but your hair would be pretty short if you got rid of them.

edited 23rd Mar '13 10:41:21 AM by ohsointocats

...I thought I put this in the random questions thread...but thanks!

The thing I worry is that so far I am incapable of coming up with a story that doesn't involve special forces in any form, even in the stories that are violence-free.

Hum, stories where people have multiple souls. Might be a thing.

I think I also just realized that I need to be much more clever to write this story than I really am.

edited 23rd Mar '13 1:05:00 PM by ohsointocats

I have that realisation altogether too often.

Hey. I'm Kas (although this being TV Tropes and under my old username, Hansen's fine too).

Basically, the way I end up (accidentally) getting the majority of my plot bunnies is when I think of ideas for a cool side character or antagonist, and with that, if they're interesting enough to me, I end up creating the story's world, plot, and—a lot of the times—even the protagonist around said character(s). Is it weird? Yeah, kind of. Do I like the challenge that this brings? Yeah until Writer's Block sets in.

My current idea—from what I can figure out how to explain at the moment—is a strange fantasy/sci-fi story with Alternate History involving Bizarre Baby Booms (caused by experimentation from ETs) and Magic Meteors (Exactly What It Says on the Tin) that cause societal discord that leads to conflicts that erupt—at the very least—in North America in 2012. All of this happening a few decades before the main plot of the story begins (because it seems like I'm starting to like the idea of making dystopian worlds).

It's a WIP idea.

edited 24th Mar '13 12:40:58 AM by NaomiHansen

I wrote 10,000 words in one day.

Part of me is proud.

Part of me is annoyed I was unable to do this until I wrote basically what amounts to fanfiction.

^ Bitchslap that part of you that is annoyed. Tell him to stuff it.