What is your favorite book on writing?

  • Thread starter Deleted member 68927
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 68927

Guest
Since I get 0 feedback, I figured I could read a book to get better. Why? I don't know. Maybe one day I will read all of my stories, perhaps not.

So, what is your favorite book on writing?
 

BlackKnightX

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
1,730
Points
153
None. And this is coming from a guy who has probably read hundreds of them by now, both popular and obscured ones.

Are they useful? Sure. They're tools you can use to achieve specific effects, but if you wanna read them, read them with an open mind and know that whatever they're teaching is only one way of doing it.

Never forget the kind of story you want to tell. If any of the tools don't resonate with what you're trying to do, then feel free to throw them away.

Here are a few you can check out:

- Brandon Sanderson's lecture series on YouTube.
- Check out this guy's channel: @Story_Marc
- Story by Robert McKee.
- The Anatomy of Story by John Truby.
- Manga in Theory and Practice by Araki-sensei, the author of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Story Trumps Structure by Steven James.
 

Story_Marc

Share your fun!
Joined
Jul 23, 2022
Messages
692
Points
133
None. And this is coming from a guy who has probably read hundreds of them by now, both popular and obscured ones.

Are they useful? Sure. They're tools you can use to achieve specific effects, but if you wanna read them, read them with an open mind and know that whatever they're teaching is only one way of doing it.

Never forget the kind of story you want to tell. If any of the tools don't resonate with what you're trying to do, then feel free to throw them away.

Here are a few you can check out:

- Brandon Sanderson lecture series on YouTube.
- Check out this guy's channel: @Story_Marc
- Story by Robert McKee.
- The Anatomy of Story by John Truby.
- Manga in Theory and Practice by Araki-sensei, the author of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Story Trumps Structure by Steven James.

I appreciate the shout-out big time! And I agree with the sentiment here entirely. What's important is understanding, not advice.

Regardless, if I were to recommend a single book, it would be Wired for Story. It's the book that made the biggest difference for me.
 
D

Deleted member 68927

Guest
None. And this is coming from a guy who has probably read hundreds of them by now, both popular and obscured ones.

Are they useful? Sure. They're tools you can use to achieve specific effects, but if you wanna read them, read them with an open mind and know that whatever they're teaching is only one way of doing it.

Never forget the kind of story you want to tell. If any of the tools don't resonate with what you're trying to do, then feel free to throw them away.

Here are a few you can check out:

- Brandon Sanderson's lecture series on YouTube.
- Check out this guy's channel: @Story_Marc
- Story by Robert McKee.
- The Anatomy of Story by John Truby.
- Manga in Theory and Practice by Araki-sensei, the author of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Story Trumps Structure by Steven James.
I just want to write stories which will get hearts and comments. More than they do now. For hearts, I have just one heart giver, sometimes two. For comments... it is a desert. I want to move people. Narcissistic of me, yeah, but I wish to make someone smile.
 

BlackKnightX

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
1,730
Points
153
I just want to write stories which will get hearts and comments. More than they do now. For hearts, I have just one heart giver, sometimes two. For comments... it is a desert. I want to move people. Narcissistic of me, yeah, but I wish to make someone smile.
Not narcissistic at all. It's normal. Like I said in another of your post, I've been noticing for a while now that you write a lot. I'm in awe. I admire your passion and work ethic. But I also noticed your stories didn't have many readers, so I assumed you just write for yourself, just for fun.

If you want to get more readers, I'd suggest you study the market first. This is more business and marketing than it is writing and storytelling.

Study trends and read reviews and comments of popular stories here. Try to understand readers' tastes. I think this site itself is its own niche; certain kinds of story are generally more popular than others (GL, Isekai, LitRPG, etc.).

Once you know what's popular, mix it up with your own flavor. Bring something unique to the crowd, but not too outside, if you know what I mean.
 

Kalliel

Grind, Future, A Beautiful Star
Joined
Aug 8, 2023
Messages
516
Points
133
What, you think I read actual books?

For real though, I only read webnovels so far, so...
 

Story_Marc

Share your fun!
Joined
Jul 23, 2022
Messages
692
Points
133
I just want to write stories which will get hearts and comments. More than they do now. For hearts, I have just one heart giver, sometimes two. For comments... it is a desert. I want to move people. Narcissistic of me, yeah, but I wish to make someone smile.
If you just want attention, I'd recommend a recent video I did on entertainment emotions. But beyond that, well... I can tell you how, but the answer has a massive tradeoff. It pretty much involves writing to the market.

As for why, the answer lies in this first from The Secrets of Story on stuff for writing for strangers.

Law #2: Audiences Purchase Your Work Because of Your Concept, But They Embrace it Because of Your Characters

This factors into the web fiction model since, despite what some might try to sell you on with this space, it isn't a pure meritocracy based on actual writing skill. There are concepts that just work better within this space for drawing attention because the audiences who gravitate to these spaces tend to look for the exact same thing they've already experienced, just presented in another way. It's why there can be someone who is doing something really well as a writer can not get attention despite being great at what they're doing while someone who isn't all that good can. It's all about appealing to certain experiences. Hence so many stories in this space feel so similar or deal with similar topics, but "this one is different because of this thing."

To note, this is true of any genre. People like familiarity but with a twist most of the time.

Pretty much the way to get attention isn't to just become better, it's to try to appeal to the environment. This is why it's important to find the right environment for oneself at times.

The tradeoff is the fact that, unless you're someone whose goal is just popularity (aka you're someone like MrBeast, who doesn't care about what you make so much as the fact you're getting attention), it can become super unsatisfying to make stuff that you don't want to.

If you want to focus on that specifically, in appealing to this niche alone, I recommend R.A. Patternson's How to Write Light Novels & Webfiction.
 
D

Deleted member 68927

Guest
Not narcissistic at all. It's normal. Like I said in another of your post, I've been noticing for a while now that you write a lot. I'm in awe. I admire your passion and work ethic. But I also noticed your stories didn't have many readers, so I assumed you just write for yourself, just for fun.

If you want to get more readers, I'd suggest you study the market first. This is more business and marketing than it is writing and storytelling.

Study trends and read reviews and comments of popular stories here. Try to understand readers' tastes. I think this site itself is its own niche; certain kinds of story are generally more popular than others (GL, Isekai, LitRPG, etc.).

Once you know what's popular, mix it up with your own flavor. Bring something unique to the crowd, but not too outside, if you know what I mean.
Where is the fun in that?
 

BlackKnightX

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
1,730
Points
153
Where is the fun in that?
I'm not saying you should write something you don't want to; I'm saying you should understand the audience. Try writing LitRPG in literary fiction market and you'll see what I mean.

Based on my observation, Scribble Hub readers love fantasy, gender-bender, GL, and power progression (LitRPG, cultivation, etc.). Look at the most popular series on the site and you'll see what I mean.

You don't have to exactly imitate popular stories, but you should study them. Know why people like them, what do they like about them, and how can you pull out what works and use them in your own story.

Look at big manga in Shonen Jump, for example. One Piece follows the traditional Shonen tropes and sentiment, and yet it's a very unique story. The pirate setting itself brings something new to the market, and Oda subverts a lot of the common tropes as well, like making Nami's hair short because most female characters with long hair were in trend at the time. Oda couldn't have done that without knowing the common trope beforehand.

Another big one is Hunter x Hunter. Togashi subverted a lot of the tropes to the point that it becomes a genre deconstruction. Instead of another power fantasy where the protagonist keeps on rising, he gave Gon a descending arc. He's gifted, yes, but not the strongest in the group, which goes against the traditional Shonen power fantasy. More than that, Gon is usually put in the sideline most of the time, shining the spotlights on the side characters instead. He couldn't have done that without knowing the tropes and the genre beforehand.

See what I mean? You have to know the market before you can play around with it. Know the audience and what they expect. If you want people to love what you write, you have to find out what they're looking for in the first place, then give them exactly that and surprise them with your unique flavor.

It's not just the content, either. The cover, the title, the synopsis, genres, and tags all matter. The format and structure of each chapter also matter.

Most stories here are serialized and updated by chapters, not volumes. That means you can't write a chapter like a normal published novel. When you read a novel, you read chapters after chapters in one go, but here, your initial readers have to wait for the next chapter to come out (not counting the late arrivals who can binge it in one go).

You have to consider their experience and learn how to appeal to them.
 
Last edited:

Kalliel

Grind, Future, A Beautiful Star
Joined
Aug 8, 2023
Messages
516
Points
133
I just want to write stories which will get hearts and comments. More than they do now. For hearts, I have just one heart giver, sometimes two. For comments... it is a desert. I want to move people. Narcissistic of me, yeah, but I wish to make someone smile.
I agree with the upstairs on the popular genres.
If you want reader interactions, choosing those genres is the most definitive way to get them.
 

Feylin

Active member
Joined
Aug 2, 2020
Messages
24
Points
43
XDD I mostly read fanfics, I just had to make sure where it made me feel disinterest of the book and make sure to avoid it when I write. And that's where I learned how to write a bit when I was younger, it helped me too since I get to practice writing from it :blob_hug::blob_hug:

I also read thriller or horror stories and they help me how to find a way to make a thrilling writing but that's just on me tho.
 
D

Deleted member 68927

Guest
I'm not saying you should write something you don't want to; I'm saying you should understand the audience. Try writing LitRPG in literary fiction market and you'll see what I mean.

Based on my observation, Scribble Hub readers love fantasy, gender-bender, GL, and power progression (LitRPG, cultivation, etc.). Look at the most popular series on the site and you'll see what I mean.

You don't have to exactly imitate popular stories, but you should study them. Know why people like them, what do they like about them, and how can you pull out what works and use them in your own story.

Look at big manga in Shonen Jump, for example. One Piece follows the traditional Shonen tropes and sentiment, and yet it's a very unique story. The pirate setting itself brings something new to the market, and Oda subverts a lot of the common tropes as well, like making Nami's hair short because most female characters with long hair were in trend at the time. Oda couldn't have done that without knowing the common trope beforehand.

Another big one is Hunter x Hunter. Togashi subverted a lot of the tropes to the point that it becomes a genre deconstruction. Instead of another power fantasy where the protagonist keeps on rising, he gave Gon a descending arc. He's gifted, yes, but not the strongest in the group, which goes against the traditional Shonen power fantasy. More than that, Gon is usually put in the sideline most of the time, shining the spotlights on the side characters instead. He couldn't have done that without knowing the tropes and the genre beforehand.

See what I mean? You have to know the market before you can play around with it. Know the audience and what they expect. If you want people to love what you write, you have to find out what they're looking for in the first place, then give them exactly that and surprise them with your unique flavor.

It's not just the content, either. The cover, the title, the synopsis, genres, and tags all matter. The format and structure of each chapter also matter.

Most stories here are serialized and updated by chapters, not volumes. That means you can't write a chapter like a normal published novel. When you read a novel, you read chapters after chapters in one go, but here, your initial readers have to wait for the next chapter to come out (not counting the late arrivals who can binge it in one go).

You have to consider their experience and learn how to appeal to them.
The thing is: I don't care that I don't have hundreds of readers. That was never my goal. What I do want, is to make the readers who like my stories happy. Let me tell you, they don't mind that I don't write a popular story. They turn up anyway. Even if it is just one reader, that is enough for me. I don't ask for more.

I tell them, at least in my German stories, to have a good day and so on. Wish them well. It would have been nice if they said hello, but even that is not critical.

I have a book on this site which gets binged every weekend that is not a popular story. If they can binge a 118k long story, they can take the time to leave a single heart.

But even if they don't, I can still see that my story is being read by people from countries which are so far away from mine, it is mind-boggling.

That said, I have been writing for just 3 years. That is nothing. I need practice to produce books which I can read as well a couple of months or years from now. And I... am a picky reader willing to drop her own books.

So, there you have it.
 

BlackKnightX

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
1,730
Points
153
The thing is: I don't care that I don't have hundreds of readers. That was never my goal. What I do want, is to make the readers who like my stories happy. Let me tell you, they don't mind that I don't write a popular story. They turn up anyway. Even if it is just one reader, that is enough for me. I don't ask for more.
I see. So you want readers who already read your story to leave more hearts and comments. Then why don't you just leave an author's note? Maybe find a mini game for your readers to play in the comment. Like, set up a poll asking who the favorite character is; set the choices for the main characters and then make the last one "Others: leave the name in the comment," or something like that. Or ask some random questions.
 
D

Deleted member 68927

Guest
I see. So you want readers who already read your story to leave more hearts and comments. Then why don't you just leave an author's note? Maybe find a mini game for your readers to play in the comment. Like, set up a poll asking who the favorite character is; set the choices for the main characters and then make the last one "Others: leave the name in the comment," or something like that. Or ask some random questions.
I read that the readers find things like that as acts of desperation. A cry for attention. I did try it and got nothing out of it. Lost readers, actually.
 

BlackKnightX

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 8, 2021
Messages
1,730
Points
153
I read that the readers find things like that as acts of desperation. A cry for attention. I did try it and got nothing out of it. Lost readers, actually.
Another tip from my own experience: add some mystery into the story. Make readers wonder about something. Keep them guessing. Mystery and suspense will keep readers engaged as well.
 
Top