What are your most unhinged writing, reading, & publishing tricks?

[Deleted member 84247]

I'll write absolute trash and be proud of it.
It's trash but its my trash.

Yeah, trash writers unite. ?

 

[MasterY001]

I write best from 12-6 AM. By "best," I mean I can write more words that require less editing, not develop good plotlines (I do that in the shower). After finishing an arc for Heroines*, my sleep schedule was ruined for two weeks

 

[Hoshino]

When you read, always use abstraction, same with writing.

 

[Placeholder]

> When you read, always use abstraction, same with writing.

My smooth brain is too concrete and specific to understand what you mean by this.

 

[Corty]

• I pin comments that say the story is bad and argue with confrontational readers under my chapters, boosting my activity metrics.
• I also only edit my completed chapters once before sending them to the pile, moving on to the next chapter. If there are issues, the readers will point them out, and then I'll fix them. They care more about having their daily fix than print-perfect grammar.
• I use my readers to point out possible inconsistencies that I can fix in future chapters, giving them the illusion I have 900 IQ points.
• I listen to what they want. Sometimes. Hence, there are multiple chapters that happened because they have been wondering what it would be like, so I made up arcs according to it.
• I reply to (almost) every comment, even if with just a blob.
• Post-nut clarity helps with planning.

 

[SwordSong]

When I draft out story & character ideas, I like to write a pseudo TVTropes page about it.

And if I ever manage to get it off the drafting phase, having a trope page about it might work as advertising, maybe.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

When I draft out story & character ideas, I like to write a pseudo TVTropes page about it.

And if I ever manage to get it off the drafting phase, having a trope page about it might work as advertising, maybe.

Fun fact. TVTtropes.com only came into existence because some fans of Buffy the vampire slayer wanted to catalog all the various plots for each episode and realized that they were just cataloging tropes.

 

[SwordSong]

Fun fact. TVTtropes.com only came into existence because some fans of Buffy the vampire slayer wanted to catalog all the various plots for each episode and realized that they were just cataloging tropes.

Yeah, I'm aware of the site's Buffy roots. I've been around that site since the original founder (FastEddie) was still active.

And one of my favourite aspects on that site is the PlayingWith/ pages. You take a trope and build mini-narratives around it to see how the same idea can play out in various permutations. Some of them might spark new story ideas, or concepts you can build into existing ones.

 

[AmbreaTaddy]

When I know that one of my novels will have a heavy focus on dialogues and interaction between characters, befor starting to write I set up a doc where I write at least 5 full pages of one liners, or interactions I want to happen, jokes, or dramatic monologues. When I start writing, I will check out that doc and sometimes copy/paste some lines, sometimes rework them to fit the scene.

For exemple :

"We have a problem."
"If you mean the fire, that's our solution to the previous problem."

In my novel "Pacle" became :

Drought couldn't believe it. His idea had worked, and probably saved the camp. But his happiness was short-lived, as S'rinj ran toward him with a somber expression.
- We have a problem.
- If you mean the burning tents, that's our solution to the previous problem; breathed the general, trying to catch his breath.
- No, boss, it's the prisoner. They freed her.
- What ?!

Very fun, very efficient, would recommend

 

[H0LL0W]

When I draft out story & character ideas, I like to write a pseudo TVTropes page about it.

And if I ever manage to get it off the drafting phase, having a trope page about it might work as advertising, maybe.

I use TV tropes to help me come up with character reactions and plot ideas. Makes for a silly story and it's fun!