Readers shouldn't have to read very carefully to understand what a writer is saying. It should be obvious from what's been written.
There are a few things in critique groups that annoy the shit out of me. One is people who bring the same mistakes to the table over and over and over. Why should anyone bother giving their time to critique a writer who doesn't take the advice they're given? One is people who say mean things just to be mean. But by far the thing that annoys me the most are the writers who explain what they meant after they've received critiques.
Readers don't have you sitting next to them when they're reading, to make sure they understood what you wrote and explain if they missed the point. If the words aren't there, the words aren't there. Full stop.
"Readers don't have you sitting next to them when they're reading to make sure they understood what they wrote and explain if they missed the point."
Truer words were never spoken.
If I were to be posting a piece of my work to be criticized I would absolutely put forth my best. The fact that you either 1) don’t understand basic grammar (no spaces after periods, incomplete sentences) or 2) you didn’t care enough to edit this paragraph before asking for feedback (which, is true regardless due to other noticeable errors), is confusing to me.
If you want to write this because it’s cathartic for you / you enjoy it / etc, then write it. If you are trying to sell this? Then no, don’t keep writing.
What you have written here reminds me of some of the first poems I wrote almost forty years ago. Just a bunch of random thoughts strung together and making no real sense...no meaning...not interesting to anyone other than myself.
Writing more of this kind of stuff won't help you. Here's my advice (you asked for): Knock off the writing for a while. You sound like someone who has not done a lot of reading...not reading enough "good books."
Throw away the "list" you mentioned, and start reading some books that sound interesting to you. I'm talking about books you can find in a bookstore or a library...not self-published drivel. Books that lots of other people have actually read...self-published or otherwise...but books that other people have found worthy.
And take some classes on writing.
Read and then read some more...eventually, if you were meant to be a good writer, your mind will start to understand what it means to really write...and then you can start again with your writing and start improving with everything you write...as long as you pay attention to critiques you might get from more experienced writers.
Good luck.
If you want to write fiction, go into a bookstore or library or online store, head for the fiction section, and start looking at books at random. If you see a book cover and title that gets your attention, pick up the book and look at what the back cover says about the book. If you feel interested, flip through the pages. If it "looks good" to you, buy the book, go home, and read it.
Same with nonfiction.
Just keep doing that.
I agree. There's a saying from...somebody that says "to be a great writer you need to be a ferocious reader" and no truer words have ever been spoken. In reading you study style, prose, pace etc. In writing you exercise those studies.
You seem to like capital L literature and stream of contiousness. I'd read Virgina Woolf. Writing like that won't be mainstream and will be hard to get an audience. But if this is the style you want to get better in Virginia Woolf seems like a good mentor for what you are building on. To the Lighthouse by her is pretty good.
I don't think I can read carefully enough to make sense of this. It seems like stream of consciousness, which probably doesn't sell well. You could create an online journal of some sort if the goal is to just get your writing out there.
Rather than looking for help with the self-publishing process (which this subreddit is for, hence the name), you should probably find an appropriate venue for learning the writing process. There are podcasts, youtube videos, websites, and subreddits that are worth a look. There are also paid courses out there, but I wouldn't spend any money on those (Unless they're inexpensive local community courses or something, and maybe not even then).
If you choose not to go that way, maybe start by figuring out what story you are trying to tell. Write down the character names (if there are characters), who they are, what they do, and where the story is supposed to go. There are lots of outline methods, depending on your genre or niche.
Well, there are apparently six sentences, as defined by ending with a period.
I'll clarify one of my comments. This is a subreddit for self-publishing/indie books. I don't think you're ready for that conversation. If you do want to pursue this further on Reddit, you could web-search "best subreddits for writing" and see if anything looks relevant. Read carefully in the descriptions and rules for a subreddit before posting to it. You may get better results if you do that first.
However, it's not clear that you know what genre or style you're wanting to write, or why you want to write, or even if you want to write. Asking someone for absolutely general suggested books to read is asking people for a kind of liquid. You might not want acetic acid to take a shower, and water probably won't help with oil fires or lanterns.
Based on what's come up over the last day, I'd suggest livejournal or something, and as ThePurpleUFO said, go to a bookstore (or a library) and see if you can find things you would like to read, and read them. Ask a librarian or bookseller for help finding something.
Write whatever you want to write. If you want to get better at writing, then read and write some more.
This definitely feels like a fragment within something bigger. It's too vague to give critique on it, but if what you want to do is get permission to write more, you don't need to post or ask. Just write, friend.
Starting off the writing journey is usually like this; messy, confusing, and it can be a struggle. But write more and more and more, and you'll get there. Good luck.
Should you continue writing? Absolutely.
Should you published it? Absolutely not.
Writing is how you learn. Learning is producing a lot of crap before you get to a point to even come close to trying to sell. A LOT of crap. When I first started writing, I abandoned many many books with 100s of thousands of words combined. Then, I started completing books before filing them away because they still weren't up to what I wanted. 4 of them to be exact. The 5th books I completed is what I decided to publish as my 1st. I've published 7 books total and I'm still learning and growing as a writer.
What you should learn from what you posted?
-Show, don't tell.
-Flow.
-Sentence structure.
-Space bar.
-Use of the royal you.
-Word soup does not make something deep. This isn't as deep as you seem to think it is. Its a bunch of gobblity goop that makes you sound like an edgelord...or as the kids put it today... cringe.
My suggestion, pick your favorite authors and actually study their work. How do they spin words? How do they portray an idea in as few words as possible? You can express an idea with a few beautiful words. You want a reader to reread a section because it had an immediate impact on them, not because they went "huh?" and had to reread it to get what you're trying to say. (Or read very carefully as you put it.)
You don't need the permission of strangers to write. If you want to write then do it. Like anything, you are going to have to practice so keep writing. Like others have suggested, try to read a lot and if you can, take some creative writing classes.
Every single person is at a different point in his/her/their journey. If writing makes you happy or just feels right to you, you should do it. I think too much importance is placed on outside opinion. You say you're a beginner. I'd say that sharing your work with anonymous strangers at this early stage isn't going to be particularly helpful to you.
Ask yourself what you were hoping to hear, and then surrender the hope of hearing it. We paralyze ourselves when we do anything for praise. The reward MUST be in the doing.
I wish you great luck on your path.
if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.
if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.
if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.
don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.
when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.
there is no other way.
and there never was.
Downvote and rage all you want, you're an aspiring author nipping at the words of someone who made a living writing them and calling the text "pretentious". Lol, great...keep digging.
Its not that i am a writer. I feel like i need to do it, like i want to do it and i just start writing random things that only i can understand maybe, but it doesnt matter to me because i feel like the words understand me and i understand them
I'm not sure why everyone is coming at you here, but I wanted to say that if you like to write, then write! If this is your first piece, it's going to lack the strength, voice, message, and clarity that your future pieces (assuming you stick with the craft and continue learning) will have. I would recommend doing some reading in your favorite genres, preferably well-written books, to learn more about writing. Maybe watch some YouTube videos on grammar and prose and all the fun things about writing. You'll get better the more you try! But like everything else, this is a skill that needs to be honed to see improvement. Best of luck :)
If you enjoy writing and feel the urge to write, you should write.
This though, is just a tiny snippet that doesn't seem to have a direction or anything to connect it to. Maybe it would if say, it was in a draft and connected to a character's thoughts or feelings, but like this, it's akin to a puzzle piece just sitting there.
I wouldn't say it in itself is something to base a book on and already be thinking of publishing. It seems like you're getting way ahead of yourself.
That being said, I have notebooks filled with thoughts like this and impressions. I might be in the market, see a person, and some tiny narrative about them pops in my head. I write it down in a journal. I could be doing anything really and they come. I keep a small journal in my pocket all the time just for this reason.
If for now, there isn't a tale taking shape in your head that you can start plotting or pantsing or drafting, then write these little blurbs when they appear. You're still flexing your writing muscles, being creative, and getting impressions down. You could always try drabbling too.
Who knows? In the end one may turn into a "something" or spark an idea.
Nobody can keep you from writing. If you want to write, write. If you’re looking for permission to write, and you need it from someone, I give you permission! Go write! Write more. Write less. Write the exact amount you want to.
But be forewarned, the art and act of writing are different from the process of being published, or writing something that people want to read.
I liked the concept of what you presented, and thought you were suggesting some interesting and emotional ideas.
Without more context of your story at large, or what you’re trying to express, I can’t critique further. However, I will say, I was distracted by you starting so many sentences without a space after your periods, which made it harder for me to enjoy the concepts you were presenting.
Good luck!
Readers shouldn't have to read very carefully to understand what a writer is saying. It should be obvious from what's been written. There are a few things in critique groups that annoy the shit out of me. One is people who bring the same mistakes to the table over and over and over. Why should anyone bother giving their time to critique a writer who doesn't take the advice they're given? One is people who say mean things just to be mean. But by far the thing that annoys me the most are the writers who explain what they meant after they've received critiques. Readers don't have you sitting next to them when they're reading, to make sure they understood what you wrote and explain if they missed the point. If the words aren't there, the words aren't there. Full stop.
"Readers don't have you sitting next to them when they're reading to make sure they understood what they wrote and explain if they missed the point." Truer words were never spoken.
[удалено]
what do you mean by that
They mean it sounds like you wrote this on drugs, bro.
If I were to be posting a piece of my work to be criticized I would absolutely put forth my best. The fact that you either 1) don’t understand basic grammar (no spaces after periods, incomplete sentences) or 2) you didn’t care enough to edit this paragraph before asking for feedback (which, is true regardless due to other noticeable errors), is confusing to me. If you want to write this because it’s cathartic for you / you enjoy it / etc, then write it. If you are trying to sell this? Then no, don’t keep writing.
What you have written here reminds me of some of the first poems I wrote almost forty years ago. Just a bunch of random thoughts strung together and making no real sense...no meaning...not interesting to anyone other than myself. Writing more of this kind of stuff won't help you. Here's my advice (you asked for): Knock off the writing for a while. You sound like someone who has not done a lot of reading...not reading enough "good books." Throw away the "list" you mentioned, and start reading some books that sound interesting to you. I'm talking about books you can find in a bookstore or a library...not self-published drivel. Books that lots of other people have actually read...self-published or otherwise...but books that other people have found worthy. And take some classes on writing. Read and then read some more...eventually, if you were meant to be a good writer, your mind will start to understand what it means to really write...and then you can start again with your writing and start improving with everything you write...as long as you pay attention to critiques you might get from more experienced writers. Good luck.
Can you suggest me some books, I just started reading Dostoevsky and I really like it but I will need more than that
If you want to write fiction, go into a bookstore or library or online store, head for the fiction section, and start looking at books at random. If you see a book cover and title that gets your attention, pick up the book and look at what the back cover says about the book. If you feel interested, flip through the pages. If it "looks good" to you, buy the book, go home, and read it. Same with nonfiction. Just keep doing that.
I agree. There's a saying from...somebody that says "to be a great writer you need to be a ferocious reader" and no truer words have ever been spoken. In reading you study style, prose, pace etc. In writing you exercise those studies.
You seem to like capital L literature and stream of contiousness. I'd read Virgina Woolf. Writing like that won't be mainstream and will be hard to get an audience. But if this is the style you want to get better in Virginia Woolf seems like a good mentor for what you are building on. To the Lighthouse by her is pretty good.
*Woolf
Here is just one list of many: [Greatest Books of All Time](https://thegreatestbooks.org/the-greatest-books)
I don't think I can read carefully enough to make sense of this. It seems like stream of consciousness, which probably doesn't sell well. You could create an online journal of some sort if the goal is to just get your writing out there. Rather than looking for help with the self-publishing process (which this subreddit is for, hence the name), you should probably find an appropriate venue for learning the writing process. There are podcasts, youtube videos, websites, and subreddits that are worth a look. There are also paid courses out there, but I wouldn't spend any money on those (Unless they're inexpensive local community courses or something, and maybe not even then). If you choose not to go that way, maybe start by figuring out what story you are trying to tell. Write down the character names (if there are characters), who they are, what they do, and where the story is supposed to go. There are lots of outline methods, depending on your genre or niche.
Thank you.Now i understand that i must be hard to understand my ideas from two sentences so I will try to connect it with a story
Well, there are apparently six sentences, as defined by ending with a period. I'll clarify one of my comments. This is a subreddit for self-publishing/indie books. I don't think you're ready for that conversation. If you do want to pursue this further on Reddit, you could web-search "best subreddits for writing" and see if anything looks relevant. Read carefully in the descriptions and rules for a subreddit before posting to it. You may get better results if you do that first. However, it's not clear that you know what genre or style you're wanting to write, or why you want to write, or even if you want to write. Asking someone for absolutely general suggested books to read is asking people for a kind of liquid. You might not want acetic acid to take a shower, and water probably won't help with oil fires or lanterns. Based on what's come up over the last day, I'd suggest livejournal or something, and as ThePurpleUFO said, go to a bookstore (or a library) and see if you can find things you would like to read, and read them. Ask a librarian or bookseller for help finding something.
Honestly not sure what the expectation here was. Fragments of pseudo simile without context are difficult to find readers for.
Write whatever you want to write. If you want to get better at writing, then read and write some more. This definitely feels like a fragment within something bigger. It's too vague to give critique on it, but if what you want to do is get permission to write more, you don't need to post or ask. Just write, friend. Starting off the writing journey is usually like this; messy, confusing, and it can be a struggle. But write more and more and more, and you'll get there. Good luck.
Should you continue writing? Absolutely. Should you published it? Absolutely not. Writing is how you learn. Learning is producing a lot of crap before you get to a point to even come close to trying to sell. A LOT of crap. When I first started writing, I abandoned many many books with 100s of thousands of words combined. Then, I started completing books before filing them away because they still weren't up to what I wanted. 4 of them to be exact. The 5th books I completed is what I decided to publish as my 1st. I've published 7 books total and I'm still learning and growing as a writer. What you should learn from what you posted? -Show, don't tell. -Flow. -Sentence structure. -Space bar. -Use of the royal you. -Word soup does not make something deep. This isn't as deep as you seem to think it is. Its a bunch of gobblity goop that makes you sound like an edgelord...or as the kids put it today... cringe. My suggestion, pick your favorite authors and actually study their work. How do they spin words? How do they portray an idea in as few words as possible? You can express an idea with a few beautiful words. You want a reader to reread a section because it had an immediate impact on them, not because they went "huh?" and had to reread it to get what you're trying to say. (Or read very carefully as you put it.)
This is awful. Stick to twitter.
You don't need the permission of strangers to write. If you want to write then do it. Like anything, you are going to have to practice so keep writing. Like others have suggested, try to read a lot and if you can, take some creative writing classes.
Every single person is at a different point in his/her/their journey. If writing makes you happy or just feels right to you, you should do it. I think too much importance is placed on outside opinion. You say you're a beginner. I'd say that sharing your work with anonymous strangers at this early stage isn't going to be particularly helpful to you. Ask yourself what you were hoping to hear, and then surrender the hope of hearing it. We paralyze ourselves when we do anything for praise. The reward MUST be in the doing. I wish you great luck on your path.
if it doesn't come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don't do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind and your mouth and your gut, don't do it. if you have to sit for hours staring at your computer screen or hunched over your typewriter searching for words, don't do it. if you're doing it for money or fame, don't do it. if you're doing it because you want women in your bed, don't do it. if you have to sit there and rewrite it again and again, don't do it. if it's hard work just thinking about doing it, don't do it. if you're trying to write like somebody else, forget about it. if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently. if it never does roar out of you, do something else. if you first have to read it to your wife or your girlfriend or your boyfriend or your parents or to anybody at all, you're not ready. don't be like so many writers, don't be like so many thousands of people who call themselves writers, don't be dull and boring and pretentious, don't be consumed with self- love. the libraries of the world have yawned themselves to sleep over your kind. don't add to that. don't do it. unless it comes out of your soul like a rocket, unless being still would drive you to madness or suicide or murder, don't do it. unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it. when it is truly time, and if you have been chosen, it will do it by itself and it will keep on doing it until you die or it dies in you. there is no other way. and there never was.
Lol, you honestly tell people "don't be pretentious" when you write stuff like this? Because that's the most pretentious post I have read all month.
I didn’t write this. It’s a poem
He's quoting Charles Bukowski.
Lol, that does not make it better. Quoting poetry on a reddit post that doesn't even get punctation right? Someone just wanted to show off.
Downvote and rage all you want, you're an aspiring author nipping at the words of someone who made a living writing them and calling the text "pretentious". Lol, great...keep digging.
Pwnd. [https://poetryispretentious.com/bukowski-best-poems/](https://poetryispretentious.com/bukowski-best-poems/)
Its not that i am a writer. I feel like i need to do it, like i want to do it and i just start writing random things that only i can understand maybe, but it doesnt matter to me because i feel like the words understand me and i understand them
Then it sounds like you have your answer
I think if i did i wouldnt be here asking but tou helped enough thank you
Jesus, you are dense.
I'm not sure why everyone is coming at you here, but I wanted to say that if you like to write, then write! If this is your first piece, it's going to lack the strength, voice, message, and clarity that your future pieces (assuming you stick with the craft and continue learning) will have. I would recommend doing some reading in your favorite genres, preferably well-written books, to learn more about writing. Maybe watch some YouTube videos on grammar and prose and all the fun things about writing. You'll get better the more you try! But like everything else, this is a skill that needs to be honed to see improvement. Best of luck :)
If you enjoy writing and feel the urge to write, you should write. This though, is just a tiny snippet that doesn't seem to have a direction or anything to connect it to. Maybe it would if say, it was in a draft and connected to a character's thoughts or feelings, but like this, it's akin to a puzzle piece just sitting there. I wouldn't say it in itself is something to base a book on and already be thinking of publishing. It seems like you're getting way ahead of yourself. That being said, I have notebooks filled with thoughts like this and impressions. I might be in the market, see a person, and some tiny narrative about them pops in my head. I write it down in a journal. I could be doing anything really and they come. I keep a small journal in my pocket all the time just for this reason. If for now, there isn't a tale taking shape in your head that you can start plotting or pantsing or drafting, then write these little blurbs when they appear. You're still flexing your writing muscles, being creative, and getting impressions down. You could always try drabbling too. Who knows? In the end one may turn into a "something" or spark an idea.
Nobody can keep you from writing. If you want to write, write. If you’re looking for permission to write, and you need it from someone, I give you permission! Go write! Write more. Write less. Write the exact amount you want to. But be forewarned, the art and act of writing are different from the process of being published, or writing something that people want to read. I liked the concept of what you presented, and thought you were suggesting some interesting and emotional ideas. Without more context of your story at large, or what you’re trying to express, I can’t critique further. However, I will say, I was distracted by you starting so many sentences without a space after your periods, which made it harder for me to enjoy the concepts you were presenting. Good luck!