Really appreicate this advice. It's hard in the beginning because you know what good writing is, but you (usually) lack the skill/experience to do it. The good news is that all you have to do is keep going. Get to the end, and then, polish or even re-write it as needed. It's your story. You can re-do it as many (or few) times as you want to. IMHO the most important things are - do you like what you've written and do your proof readers (target audience) like it.
I find myself in a place where I can even shower love and gratitude towards my hardships because the conflicts, and struggles that we face only make us wiser and stronger. That is if we choose to see it that way. Even in the face of doubt and insecurity one can find the opportunities to learn and understand from these experiences and cultivate them into something positive. Then they prove to be powerful in your writing. Learning from ones own inner conflicts.
Brilliant discussion - I was sure I wouldn’t have any common ground to share with you two. Still, I’ve been watching your past shows and rediscovering just how every writer’s spirit shares so many everyday experiences, fears, and ideals. I’m looking forward to seeing a Livestream.
Good morning, Kate and Abbie. Just to let you know that it is your fans on here, RU-vid, who support your channel as well then Patreon. Happy Valentine's Day to you both and have a wonderful, special day.
I won't say that I don't compare myself to established authors. However, I'm more prone to studying why I'm still reading it, or why it keeps kicking me off the page. It's harder to pick up on what's working, than to see what's failing. I like to know what fails, so that I don't repeat those mistakes. For instance... The sledgehammer approach to making you give a damn about the MC. I generally put the book down when it's that blatant. My Hero Academia uses this approach; useless is getting bullied by fucktard in the classroom, the class is laughing, and so is the teacher. A few good examples of what has kept me hooked, and still. Mushoku Tensei, immediately tells you to hate the MC, from a first person perspective. His save the cat moment gets him killed, and when he wakes up, he sees boobs and he's like, "Lady, you keep these in my face, I'm gonna help myself... huh, my hands." Ascendance of a Bookwork, "Ahhh... my books killed me. How embarrassing. God, please reincarnate me to where I can read books always." Wakes up a filthy peasant in a medieval society with an illness that's killing her. Overlord, a 9-5er wakes up in a world were he is the last Supreme Being of his guild, surrounded by a bunch of OP NPC's who've come to life and they are all bat-shit crazy and will bend the world to his liking at the very hint of his word. Maou-sama Retry, has writing mistakes, but as a debut novel, the author did a great job holding it together. Among other issues, she plays her trap cards too soon; Agu could have been an amazing ongoing gag, but turns out she is indeed a girl, and the actual trap is... rather kinda funny. Fun stories that I hated reading. Read them and learn how not to write! Arifureta. Oh my fucking gawd this is bad. But don't worry, he eventually kills the god and goes home. But wait, it doesn't end there, the story goes on, and the writing gets REALLY BAD!!! Like fuck, Spies don't tell people that they are spies... If the writing wasn't so bad, these after stories would be fucking hilarious. I got halfway through Hero-san's redemption (maybe?) story, and I couldn't take it anymore. Tensei Shit a Slime! I once called Rimiru a Mary Sue on a fan channel; I was immediately chastised, and summarily told in exceeding detail that Mary Sue was a Rimiru; I shall not make that mistake again. This story breaks all the rules, and not well. The only upside that I find, is that Rimiru is best trap; it is occasionally mentioned that he is a dude (like he's reminding himself, "oh yeah, I almost forgot"), in a genderless body, that appears adorably female. The bad guys are DUMB!!! The dragons are retarded. The Primordial Demons almost make up for it all, they're actually kind of cool. Realist Hero rebuilds a Kingdom. There is so much cool in this story, that it is tragic the writing ruins it. It's so frustrating. The latest novel has come out, and I don't wanna read it... I don't wanna read it... I don't think I'm gonna. A story that wasn't even fun to try reading. She professed herself an old man's wet dream... I mean... Student of a Wise Man. This is so much shit splattered on the wall. I think the best scene of all that I've read in this one, she buys a robe that looks like her Wise Man robe and immediately puts it on, shows up at the throne room and states, "I'm back!" and everybody is trying not to giggle at her cuzz, it's just a child's cosplay robe. I learned a LOT reading these. For one, first drafts such shit; edit your work! Second, don't repeat yourself. Third, trust your readers intelligence, they don't need you wiping their ass. Fourth, don't have full blown conversations during a fight, talk or fight, pick one!
I’m close to finishing my novel, I focused on the characters and their struggles, giving it an authentic feeling and journey. I’m happy with it. Not everyone will like it, but I’m okay with that. I didn’t have the heart to kill off any of my main characters. Just one bad guy is done away with by a surprise character. Thanks guys couldn’t have done it, without all the great advice!
I would like to read it after you finish it if you don't mind, my English isn't perfect but i wanted to see applications of the writing advices out there and also the writing out of passion not for just publishing, I'm studying writing on my own but i still have to do effort.
I compare my writing to the advice that various booktubers like Kate and Abbie have posted. For example, the video Abbie posted about 10 words you may want to avoid. That's actually one of my favorites. It's astonishing when I compare a book I'm listening to with that list of words, I realize that if I were the editor, the book wouldn't have gone to print as it is, but look at the success of the story! Actually, the story I'm thinking of while writing this is Harry Potter. Like her or not, J.K. Rowling is one of the most successful authors of the last century, and none of her books would pass my critique. Just goes to show that there truly is no such thing as perfection.
Don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20. You’ll never be on the same page because they’re not even the same book and you’re in different libraries.
Thanks guys I had something just like this. I hated a section that I fought with and then someone told me it was my best work. Perspective is everything apparently 🤷🏼 Keep up the vids their so helpful.
Each reader’s experience is also unique. One story will touch your heart differently, than another story. But what remains the same, is that we care about the characters and want them to achieve happiness!
Ironically, all my recent comparisons have been with (subjectively) worse writers. I tried to read a couple books but couldn't get very far due to a plethora of grammatical and spelling errors. I got torn out of the story and wondered "how did this get past beta readers?" "How did this get the green light when it came time to publish?" One more minor comparison is that I'm restarting the Eragon cycle and while Christopher Paolini had impeccable editing, he really didn't need a whole new chapter for each scene. It's a 500 page book, you don't need 70 chapters. 😆
YES! Greatest conversation that I need to keep having, even more so when I don't have a group of people who do what I do. IN-person accountability. Appreciate both of you sisters! #staystoked #rockon
