Hey guys.
I'm writing a story, which I eventually hope to make into a book. I know there's a lot more people that write stories, and I'm hoping we can help each other out, giving advice and whatnot, maybe posting bits of our stories here.

I write as well. I think this is a great idea, it might also cut down on writers block if we help each other out. I know we all have those little "problems" we can't seem to work out. >.<

I'm a little nervous about posting my stories though... I always feel like they're not good enough. Y'know?

Can I see a bit of yours XinHun? :D

I also write but I'm uncomfortable letting anyone read what I write because I feel like it's not good enough

>>3 As long as you acknowledge your ability, or lackthereof, that should be enough to stave off the expected flaming you can receive. Other than that, the rest of the possible commentary would be constructive at the very least.

I'm not saying you are unskilled, but never being confident enough to test it is the absolute first thing you need to get over. I'm being realistic in not saying you won't get any flaming comments, because that's silly. Haters gonna hate. What I'm also saying is, I'm sure it's not bad enough people here can't offer advice to fix that.

im also a writer. i'm on my second book of the series. i hope to make about 6 books in that series. what kind of book is it? is it manga, anime, mystery, fantasy,etc

>>5 What do you mean by anime?

>>All

Eh..I'm a so-so editor...Great with grammar..

anime. like a japanese cartoon. awesome

When has a japanese cartoon ever been a kind of book...?

>>8 IT'S IN THE MIND! IN THE MIND MAN!!!!!! as in....well idk O_O but you can understand it a little. It's kinda like making the characters first, and then writing a story later. o3o i think....

>>9 In a literary medium, a character isn't even drawn. And if they are, the style usually doesn't matter since the story is all text. They are represented through the art of written imagery, and nothing else.

As a genre, in terms of literature, anime and manga has no meaning. Manga refers to an art style originating from Japan, while Anime refers to an animated form of that. Neither explains plot, theme, or any other literary significance, though each has its stereotypes.

Unfortunately, using "anime" as a description of such things is derogatory at best.

>>5
Great to see a fellow aspiring writer out there.
My book will be a fictional story about romance, conflicting ideologies between two nations. I've submitted it to many publishers and hopefully they'll accept it. It's called "Why anime and manga isn't a fucking genre for literature works."

I'm new to the Dollars but immediately found myself wandering to this board. It didn't take me long to find this thread and I am glad to see other writers and literature fans out there.

I'd love to see something come of this, so I will check in as often as I can. Like XinHun and Hashiyan said I believe we could all help each other out.

>>12 It would be my assumption that this person is stating that she drew her inspiration from anime; and though What Misuto above said is relevant, that is no excuse for you to start with the hate. There are more constructive ways to go about these things...

>>13 this thread is rather....two months old, but that's okay. also, he's not hating, that's just him. :3 sometimes he hates, but thats....that's different

Um, I'm also an aspiring writer but I'm starting small for now. Just some minor works I post on FF.net so that I can figure out where I can still improve on based on people's reviews of my works. I dunno if it'll work for all you writers out there, too, but I suggest you join FF.net or Fiction Press (Is that what it's called? I'm not sure...) so you can gauge your skill and get even better. Misuto is right, though. Haters gonna hate. That's reality. I've gotten quite a few flames already. It hurts but I just write some more and get better to get back at them. Hehe, well, I didn't know anime and manga weren't specific categories. I'll be careful with my use of words from now on. Good luck everybody! :))

I am writing a novel as my IB personal project.
The details: It's a more of a sci-fi story and the main theme is cyber warfare.

Very Rough summary: A policemen that interrogates the convicts placed in a special prison for hackers, in Antarctica.

I was wondering if anyone among you would be interested in helping me by beta-reading or just giving out your opinion?

Thanks in advance.

>>14 Ah, well that's understandable; sarcasm makes the world go round

Remember that what's important is your love and devotion to your work. Yes, you will need people to help you publicize yourself, but forget about what the general population will think. Many writers in the world have been told horrid things, and those we know have succeeded, like Shakespeare. Keep at it, and maintain a positive attitude. Hold your work close to your heart, and keep in mind that you have a goal and a dream that's waiting to become a part of your reality.

>>16 i'll read it!

Also... i wrote an intro to something (no idea what im doing with it) for some reason i want to start a story, just wanted to see if anybody can make an opinion for it, so here it is:

Days upon days… they’re all the same, nothing ever changes.
“Wake up!”
Everyday exactly the same.
“I’m up!”
Why won’t it change?
“The alarm didn’t go off so you’ll have to hurry up!”
This happens every week, it’s irritable but doesn’t bust through the everyday monotony.
“What? Again?”
My name’s Claid Girio, and I’m bored as hell.
“Sorry I’ll make sure to set it up right next time.”
They say the best part of reaching a destination is how you get there.
“You know it takes me two hours to get to school!”
Well fuck whoever “they” are.
“You better hurry up its 5:23 already”
Shit Shit Shit!
“Im going, seeya later!”
Hopefully.
“Bye!”
Coincidence or destiny? You never know, but later that day something was bound to happen.

-------
no idea where im taking this, and i find it a little cheezy for an intro, tell me your thoughts if you have any.

warning: my story is VERY depressing at some points. this is one of those times.

In front of lily was a wall. an almost transparent wall made of the darkness.
"is this..."
"yes." replied lira. "this is the darkness in your soul. your spirit world consists of this wall of darkness, which defines how close you are to becoming a demon, and the field we just passed through. that is-"
"my light." lily said.
"yes." lira said again.

this is from book 2 of the series, chapter 42. i actually just wrote this on friday.

doesn't sound too depressing, sounds like an explanation for something.

Im working on my 1st book right now, I plan on making it a series but im still having trouble thinking of some elemental names perferably in different languages like spainish, japenese, etc.Do you guys have any names you could offer me, im just having a hell of a time trying to find some that fit my characters elements/powers ex:earth,fire,water,wind,lightning and illusions. It would be a great help to me if guys just give me a few names.

>>22 Generally, when making meaningful names, the farther they are from their actual reference or meaning the better. If you make it too obvious, it would be worse than if they had a normal name at all (like naming someone with wind powers "Kaze" or something). Can't assume it's vague enough just because it's translated into another language - what if someone who speaks that language gets it? It's like if a spanish author named a character "Fire," it's just silly.

Maybe draw references from different mythologies or religions as it suits the character. There's a lot of material out there - just gotta do the research.

Thanks

>>19 Thanks for your support then!
As for your intro, it somehow seems more like a movie/play script. Else, it looks like a good lead.

I have here the 485 first words of my project.
I would be very happy if there is "someone" out there that might want give their comment? (as in, does the content spikes your curiosity?)
Thanks

Prologue:
Loading Settings…

Date: D Day of M Mont, Year ZZZZ
Web: t5An1.lojblog.org
Entry no. 180

Dear comrades of the WWW,
It is an honor for me to be able to, once again, share my thoughts with you all via this mundane plain text document known as a “blog entry”.

And as usual, if it is the first time that you read my entries, then please be warned of the following things:

First, I speak nothing but the truth and truth hurts. If you cannot withstand the drabbles of an honest man, then stop reading.
Second, profanity is one language all computer users know, me included.
Third, this blog was created with one purpose in mind: to civilly rage at the many things that makes this world a piece of [****]. Profanity may ensue.
Finally, please refrain from mentally criticizing my chef-d’oeuvre every 2 sentences. It’s psychologically stressful.

Now, let us begin.

Today’s subject is none other than the newly established Jerusalem Treaty, signed and adopted by numerous governments across the world (I estimate the number of signatories to be around 179.5), most of which played an active role in the recent and most unconventional war ever recorded in human history: Cyber War I.

The simple fact that these politicians whom we all love so much managed to arrive at a consensus brought tears to my eyes: my wife can testify that my laughs were so loud that our neighbor’ almost called the nearest asylum to request an immediate pick up.

Else, after my tears had dried, I immediately opened an Internet browser and searched for a downloadable version of the treaty. As I expected, few of the clauses dealt with the consequences of the war; instead, they mostly dealt with judicial matters and the implantation of new cyber warfare laws, in order to ensure peace and avoid another similar catastrophe.

Cyber War I had indeed caused significant damages to human societies, in particular to the highly cyber-dependent ones. I, like many of you, do not have good memories of the war: what I mean to say is that I have no clear recollection of what exactly had happened during the conflict, but that, concurrently, what I do remember does not amuse me. There is nothing humorous about Cyber War I, and most especially not how it was done: that government officials had the nerves to approve the integration of computer technology professionals into cyber units and employ said units to launch and/or support military offensives outrages me. What’s more, that they dared turn cyberspace (meaning Internet and all existing computer networks on Earth) into a battleground is simply unforgivable.

(That being said, I must however confess that I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling when I saw a photoshop’ed image of the White House turning black, posted on some online newspaper websites that had been taken down by hackers on the 15th day of war.)

>>22 i'm doing something similar to that. basically i pick a one word or element and use google translate to find a word that sounds nothing like the original word.

Sounds like a pretty good start, but I find that the style changes slowly from the personal opinions of the author to a more informative/essay-style text.
lol @ Jerusalem Treaty & request for immediate pick up.

>>28 Interesting dystopian setting, though if I didn't read the prologue it would sound like it was based in the past. I guess it's because the other parts of the story haven't come into play yet.

If I had to give one piece of advice though, unrelated to storytelling, it would be sentence structure. Forgive me for getting technical instead of commenting on the content for a moment. Pretty much every non-dialogue sentence followed the same exact structure, and it got kind of repetitive sounding if read in quick succession.
"He felt something hard hit him. He looked down and found a little girl. Kenjiro looked down. The little girl's hair blew. 'Well?' she asked. Kenjiro sat puzzled. She smiled proudly."
It didn't really deviate enough, and it always referenced back to the subject like the reader didn't already have it in their mind.

As far as actual story content though, it feels like the characters and the setting aren't really developed enough for the reader to get what's going on. The beginning part when he was sent out on his own seemed rushed, like more could have been done with it. It seems like it would've had a greater effect if I had any idea who Master Arai was, if I sympathized with the main character, and if it wasn't ended with "welp, conversation over. Bai :V"
If I had to summarize it in the same way it felt as I was reading, it would be "A little kid got kicked out by some guy he lived with. Then he met a girl."

...I hope I don't come off as completely negative though. This is the only way I know how to give advice: through criticism. It was an interesting read, really - technical stuff like this only gets to me when I really think about it, and that's how I view posts in this thread.

No you weren't too negative. I thought I should change some things because after I go back and read it it does start to sound the same. Thanks a lot for your criticism. Yeah it does seem like it takes place in the past. It's like the future mixed with things of the past. I don't know how to really explain it. Other parts of places in the book are futuristic though.

I changed some stuff and added more dialogue with master arai. I'll post it later. I'm entering a novel contest so i have to be done by the end of the month. it's supposed to be 50 000 words but the more I write the more I hate the plot. oh well.

I'm in the planning stages of a novel I hope to get published. Go for it, all of you!

I'm here my whole life ;D!

I'm not writing a novel or anything, but I am writing short stories to get good ideas and it also helps me practice to write long stories. :)

I'm thinking about writing some fanfiction, good idea!

My dream is to be a new york times best selling author.

I've got a few stories on the back burner that I'm taking my time with, hopefully to turn them in to novels some day. I write fanfiction in my spare time though, here is a sample from my Soul Eater fic for those of you who care enough:

"You've finnaly arrived. I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it." Tyler sits down on the soft grass at the base of the tree his back propped up against the thick bark.

Joey looks around to take in his surroundings. "What is this place exactly?"

"This is my soul. It's a tranquil enough place, definately my style." Tyler takes a bite out of the thorny apple he is holding not even cutting himself once.

Joey looks at Tyler in disbelief, he had never heard of anyone entering a soul before. "This is your soul? Looks peaceful."

"RRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHH!" A loud roar comes from the opposite side of the tree loud enough to make more fruit from above fall to the ground below. Joey, taken by surprise jumps at the sudden outburst.

"What the hell was that?" Joey says as he regains his composure. "I've never heard anything so fierce in my life!"

Letting out a heavy sigh and throwing away his fruit, Tyler stands up to look Joey in the eye. "Being my meister means not only wielding me, but controlling me. Every weapon has some sort of demon trapped within them. Weapons are used to kill and take the souls of those we kill, making us less human each and every time." Tyler places a hand on the tree trunk. "On the other side of this tree is a place where I keep my demons locked away. It is a place of desolation and fire, of rivers of blood where the fruits of life rot away before they are savored. There also lies my strength and my undoing, there is the power that you must bear to wield me in combat." As if to confirm his story the ground beneath their feet quakes violently almost causing Joey to lose his balance.

I'm Animedatabase on fanfiction.net if anyone wants to read some more of my writing. If someone ends up actually visiting my page please leave brutal reviews, I'm trying to develop a style of my own.

I'm actually writing a sarcastic story about volunteering at a hospital. My advice is to try and put in real life experience into a story, it adds a whole new dimension to it and makes it relatable.

I'm sort of a writer, but I don't really want to create a book so much as I want to create a cartoon. My vocab isn't large enough for a full on novel, so I let pretty drawings tell a story for me.

I can sometimes make very interesting openings for the things I write. I am currently writing something like this(this is an ideal description,not from the story)---An 18 year old boy was chained up in a dark room,until several people rescued him.He finds himself in a strange, large manner after he faints.Everyone calls him "young master" and he will strive to find out why. It might seem like a common scenario,but trust me, I will make it much more different.

I'm a writer, trying to become a published Manga Writer. I am having one made as we speak, where I write it and get the Artist to draw it up.

The advice I can give is to always listen to music that inspires you, as you're writing, and to watch TV that inspires you.

Also the best kind of writing, in my opinion, isn't one that's planned. Just sit down, and write what you feel. This way, every bit you do is even a surprise to you. It makes it more interesting and keeps you inspired.

I had this story going. It was amazing! I got in touch with a publishing company and I was going to be famous! .... but then my computer crashed and I lost every letter on that story!!! :.-(

Wow I'm happy to see that their are other dollars members that want to be writers!
I hope I can help with this thread (since my username should tell you what I think about this thread)
My advice for the writers is: Expand your views. Make sure that you don't write about one thing only. Add all sorts of original concepts to your story (as in don't make parallels of someone else's work)

ahhh...fellow writers. i actually started a novel on my laptop two years ago. then it broke (literally BROKE). i've been writing short stories since then, but now i decided to work on a different novel. i'm only on pg 21 though and i don't want it or any of my stories published (they are my personal works).

xinhun, i really hope to see your story in store windows in the future (just give me the title and i'll be buying it!).

and as for the other writers out there, what i do to help me write is just going for it because for me, once i start writing i can never stop. i also listen to music that fits the situation in the part that i'm writing.
for those who want to start a story, what i do is just chose something that represents what i'm feeling. then use that to create the characters, the plot, everything. hope this helps.

-le sigh- I write a lot of stuff, but for some reason I can never finish stories, let alone a chapter. Even when I plan. (Maybe my mind wanders too much.) I hope I can see a sample from a member's story sometime.

>>5 >>20 Not to be rude, but I'd like to ask you to explain something to me. You're a writer, yet you compare written words to animation, and you're too lazy to capitalize your letters..? That doesn't seem very writer-like to me. Of course, I may just be nitpicking.

im writing a zombie novel :D

>>47 That makes two of us ^.^

Bumping so I can find this later to ask a question and for new people who want to share their stuff.

im working on book to ^^

If you guys needed someone to review your work..
You can count on me!
Im good at giving advIces if your working on a story..
And also i want to be the first to read it before becoming into a book :)

I've got a lot of stories, but most of them are fanfiction. I find it a great way to practice. In between writing fanfics, though, I'm working on my own story--it's not as good as my fanfiction, but I'm getting there, and I'd be happy to help out any other budding authors out there! ^ ^

No motivation to write even though I have really amazing ideas.

>>53 Same. Ain't that a bitch? I'm considering getting a ghost writer.

I'm writing a book. I plan on finishing writing it in three and a half years. After that, I have someone whom I shall have proof read it, though I will do so myself as well, and someone who will double-check something that's bothering me about one of my characters.

If you guys would like, I can give you bits and pieces to get you excited.

After I finish my series, because we all know that is more important, I'm willing to be a ghost writer for someone. I'm not going to even use my real name in the book I'm writing. In truth, I often have the opposite problem. No creativity and want to write.

I'm into writing tragedies, not much else to say. Other than I suck at grammar and can't spell for shit.

>>56 that would be great, but I would like to see a piece of your work so I can see your writing style. I'm like a vending machine of ideas, but fuuuck I have no idea how to put it on paper anymore if it's not a short story.

Bump

I'm writing stories too, but I got stuck on it. So I've started writing fan fiction until I can think of something. Worst thing about original ideas: No fans can give you a hint of what to do because it isn't published and there are no fans.

>>58 I left my current pieces, stuff that I haven't finished but may eventually do if I ever feel like it, at home. I'll probably be able to give you some samples in a few weeks. If I ever write anything else while I'm here, which is highly likely, I'll post it on here for you.

As far as example of my work and righting style, you've got many options. I have a scene from the book I'm writing, which is the very first time I wrote it. I won't fix it up and edit it until I finish the book. I have a few short stories, which have been edited once or twice, but can still be better. I can also just write something completely new and you give me a prompt. My writing style varies given how into it I am as well as my mood.

Actually, you can just email me and faeriefate@gmail.com if that works easier because I get emails on my phone.

Anyone have an account on Figment.com? Tons of people post their stories on there. If anyone cares, my username there is Journie.
Anyway, I like to write and have a bazillion ideas. But I try to write, get a paragraph or two, can't decide on the little details, never look at it again (or am too embarrassed by my low skill level to do it over). It sucks. But I keep trying anyway, for whatever reason. :P

Hey, I'm not sure if this counts, but I write some Fanfiction. If anyone wants to actually read it, my pen name on the Fanfiction site is HibiscusAngel15.

That said, I think it's great that some fellow Dollars are also writers! :3

>>63 Anyone who dismisses FanFiction because of the "fan" part is an idiot. While, I admit, that there's a lack of creativity there, because people can't make their own characters, I can't dismiss the fact that there is a lot of creativity in FF.

The fanfictions that keep all of the shit from whatever they borrow the ideas from, that doesn't count. I've read some that I truly believe could be sold as a book had the author managed to create their own characters though.

Yeah, I'm starting with fanfiction to get a feel for my writing style. I do have ideas for my own novel(s) one day, but right now, I feel as if I should develop my own style first.