[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 141 KB, 543x405, 1422921936086.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6688528 No.6688528 [Reply] [Original]

How do you become a decent writer? Is there anything you can do beside reading a lot?

How do you build a consistent world/lore properly?

>> No.6688540

nature over nurture.

sorry to break it to you but you either have it or you don't, and don't take that in a patronizing fashion, I don't claim to be the next hemingway, but i truly feel that some people are born more exceptional than others. some people are better at some things while others are better at other things.

being intelligent and well read helps.

>> No.6688548

>worldbuilding

just leave you pleb

>> No.6688559

found the imbecile >>6688548

>> No.6688597

I have to agree with >>6688540
The best writers I knew personally just kind of shat their stuff out without much previous experience. As they read, of course their skills improved, but they either had it or they didn't, and there was no room for transitioning between "didn't" and "did". Perhaps because writing is a domain so much more intimately tied to personal creativity and so much more detached from technical execution when compared to most.

Of course, if you think you have it, do go for it. I'm not trying to discourage you. Reading a lot does certainly help bring your works up a notch, if for nothing else than dictionary. Living in the worlds of others does give clues as to how to build your own. Political knowledge is also useful; many of the greatest worlds are reflections of ideological archetypes.

>> No.6688599

I don't get it OP, do you want to learn to become a decent writer or to focus disproportionally on a meaningless aspect that's only there for neckbeards to masturbate over

>> No.6688603

>>6688540
>>6688597
Creativity can be cultivated, provided you're at least somewhat intelligent and without any significant mental deficiencies.

>> No.6688609

>>6688540
>>6688597
How would one know if they 'have it'?

>> No.6688614

>>6688528
>Is there anything you can do beside reading a lot?
Nope. Read good writers and figure out what they did write. Reading some literary theory will help also. And I'll also add that if "reading a lot" sounds boring to you and you have to look for a shortcut, you probably don't have enough passion for the form to be a decent writer. Probably.

>> No.6688615

>>6688609
write a book and see what people think about it

>> No.6688636

>>6688528
It's all about imagination. You need to imagine a lot.
Just stay away from the computer/writer machine, close your eyes and start meditating.
Imagination is a great power of ours, as Eliphas Levi said so.

>> No.6688643

>>6688609
>do you have an impulse to write?

>is your mind ringing with ideas constantly?

>are you a very empathetic person?

>do you see things in your everyday life and wonder about them? if they have feelings? what went into their creation? who or what was sacrificed in the creation of said thing?

>do you have any idiosyncrasies that would add to the perspective that you have to share?

>are you good at drawing from and incorporating elements from your own life into your work?

>are you a smart person?

>> No.6688652

>>6688643
Where are you getting this standard?

>> No.6688655

>>6688540
This is bullshit. There's no such thing as intelligence or talent. There is only discipline.

>> No.6688670

>>6688528
You have to be a dreamer anon. If you're a dreamer, you'll have been creating worlds in your mind for your entire life.

>> No.6688677

>>6688670
I've been doing that my entire life, quite literally

>> No.6688697

>>6688677
You must have a very strong neck.

>> No.6688704

>>6688652
common sense. although that sounds condescending i can't think of another way to put it.

also the dismissive tone of your response doesn't say a lot about your capacity for empathy or open-mindedness. maybe you're more of a math brain.

for being talented in a discipline as subjective as writing there's never going to be an objective "standard."

you should try your hand at it and if no one likes what you're doing then maybe it isn't your thing.

>> No.6688705

>>6688670
>mfw I feel like I am John von Dorf

>> No.6688710
File: 51 KB, 500x281, tumblr_mguib0FdLs1rlo1q2o1_500.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6688710

>>6688655
lol okay bud

>only discipline
AHAHAHAH

>> No.6688724

>>6688704
Not dismissive, just curious. I really love writing and am pretty set on it but the idea of there being natural inclinations that one must have to constitute a good writer gets me a little anxious.

>> No.6688757

>>6688724
what do you write?

mind showing something you did?

>> No.6688802

>>6688724
>i really love writing

then what are you on about?

p.s. being hugely self-critical and self-doubting seems to be a big part of creativity

>> No.6688805

>>6688724
He's basically asking if you have any quantifiable traits of brilliance in you

So do you?
I can tell you don't

>> No.6688820

>>6688528
A really big portion is just getting your skill down (syntax, grammar, etc.). There's absolutely no downside to being able to write something without any errors (there will always be one or two mistakes here and there, even if you're good, but it saves tons of time on editing).

As everyone has said, reading does help since it can expose you to new ideas as well as different ways of describing a scene or writing dialogue. Like the technical skill of writing, reading is just plain essential and has no downside (even reading a supposed horrible book can show you what doesn't work, or what bad writing looks like).

Third, don't give a shit. I'd say at least 95% to 99% of us here aren't going to be the next lucrative or genre-defining author. I'm not trying to discourage you from trying if it's fame and money you want, but just realize how insanely difficult that is and beside the point of writing as well. What do *you* want to write? What do you want to say? What kind of world would you like to read about or see or imagine? Find your enjoyment in the craft, rather than try to exploit it for material gain. It might sound ridiculous, but there's a lot of freedom in realizing that everything you write might just be shit. But hey, it's your shit, and you had fun writing it, right? Play jazz, go crazy. Want to write a story about a blue duck going on a revenge mission in some action packed sci-fi thriller about the coldness of humanity? Do it. Write that ridiculous story. Just be sure this is something you enjoy, and not doing to achieve some vague notion of fame because it's something you're marginally good at and can't think of a different skill.

>> No.6688822

>>6688802
I'd say confidence is a bigger part of creativity
The confidence to ask the question; to search for the answer; to hold yourself in high enough esteem to make sure that answer is the right one

>> No.6689186

bump, I don't want to end up like >>6686971

>> No.6689215

>>6688540
He asked how to become a decent writer, there's hardly any talent needed for that.

There's no need to say that nobody here has any literary talent to become the next Hemingway, Faulkner or whatever name that goes through your head. Nothing exceptional will be written by /lit/ users, but more than one decent work can be seen here now and then.

>> No.6689310

It depends on what you mean by decent writer.

If you mean decent, as in popular, then I think today to be popular you do fiction to a specific genre.

If you mean good as in the actual writing style, I think what you can do to be good is read a lot of poetry/poetic stuff like William Burroughs. That's what Salman Rushdie said in an interview.

If you mean good as in content wise, that's mostly subjective, I think.

>> No.6689361

>>6688540
You're implying that the author has TOTAL agency over being a great writer, though. Many great works, even ones that stand the test of time, stand out because of their social background or their sociopolitical context. I'm tired of this myth of the 'innate gifted artist'. Obviously some people are predisposed towards creativity, but it's more complex than that.

>> No.6689373

And the answer to this question requires much specificity. Do you want to be a great novelist? One in a specific genre? Do you just want to 'write' well? Do you want to write magazine stories or espresso machine instructions or what?

The answer varies so much depending on what you mean.

>> No.6689490 [DELETED] 
File: 58 KB, 500x500, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6689490

>>6688670
I once imagined my own universe that was a mix of Dragon Ball Z, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and little things I read in my history books. It was a self-insert type world where I was a High Prince, Magician, Revolutionary Leader and Super Sayan. I got lost in there, good times. I was about 12. It's still probably my finest accomplishment. It was really detailed -- down to bullet sizes.
And yes, I did have friends okay, there was always at least one! :D

>> No.6689572

>>6689373
one specific genre

>> No.6689643

>>6689490
Amazing.

>> No.6689651

>>6689490
you need to stop posting this rare nextgen meme, everyone is saving it and its value is dropping considerably...

>> No.6689714

>>6689643
Yeah. But are you ... the pic or the rest?>>6689651
Alright gotcha mang. Rest assured.

>> No.6689785

>>6689714
It's all for naught, I saved it and I'm going to post it as frequently as I can now.

>> No.6689846

>>6689215
> Nothing exceptional will be written by /lit/ users, but more than one decent work can be seen here now and then.

how do you figure?
>i bet hemingway and faulkner never browsed image boards!!

is this your argument?

>> No.6689853

>>6689361
>Obviously some people are predisposed towards creativity,
yes

>but it's more complex than that.
not really

>> No.6689924
File: 89 KB, 233x255, 1430084183925.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
6689924

>>6688599
Why does it have to have meaning? For fucks sake, why can't OP just make art for the sake of art?

>> No.6689934

>>6688540
>>6688597
I don't know what to think about this. I've read some terrible "pre-career" shit that authors from various careers wrote, and the writers themselves often speak about how important honing their craft was. for a while, i spent just about all my time obsessing over existing writing styles and philosophies on writing. I experimented, tested, wrote and re-wrote, edited, and studied some more. and I've got to say, before I stopped, my writing ability was worlds, I mean WORLDS better. I mean from complete bullshit trash to maybe approaching half-competent writing.

On the other hand, I don't even read poetry but a few times had an urge to write and only poetry came out. I think my poetry is the best thing I've written and my friends who read poetry highly approve. So what do I know. It's funny, too, I'd much rather be a skilled writer than poet.

Thankfully I probably just suck at both anyway

>> No.6689939

>>6689853
>>6689361
There was some study I remember hearing a lecture about that suggested "genius" as it is popularly received is largely cultivated throughout ones lifetime. Don't ask for a source, I don't have one. Just thought for food

>> No.6689980

>>6689490
Same
There was different world and I played different characters throughout

One of the last ones was me being some kind of Roman general turned superhuman warlord, killing off my old comrades with a small squad of equally superhuman warriors. They had to die or something to get the powers
I'd tire myself out playing out the fight scenes and think of story progression as I was resting

I should've got into D&D

>> No.6689990

One only needs 'creativity' if their planning on being genrefags.

>> No.6690003

>>6688652
Stop trying to dismiss the standard of greatness when it directly applies to me

>> No.6690020

>>6688528
>How do you become a decent writer? Is there anything you can do beside reading a lot?
You just gotta read, anon. Read a lot and pay close attention to who the works you like are written. The syntax and use of language in a novel is much different from the way you'd tell a story talking to someone or how you might picture a story in your mind. Things like tone and pacing are almost impossible to get right without looking at examples.

Besides, if you don't enjoy reading, writing may not be for you.

>How do you build a consistent world/lore properly?
Honestly, this is something you've got to work out on your own. There are plenty of sources out there with advice on how to organize or formalize your worldbuilding (just google "worldbuilding questions"), but if you don't have the creative spark to come up with the general idea of a world on your own, there isn't much you can be told.

But look on the bright side: Many of the most popular novels out there take place in the real world, in our own time even. You don't need to go full-Tolkien to write something good.

>> No.6690826

>>6689785
Make it a Pepe

>> No.6690928

>>6688540
Literally no way of proving whether this is true or not.

>> No.6691122

>>6688822
lack of confidence, self criticism, the feeling that you are effectively "fooling" the world and are not actually accomplishing anything of the worth that others give your work - these traits occur with overwhelming frequency in those who are deemed a "genius" in any given creative field.

>> No.6691151

Vulnerability

>> No.6691200

>>6689990
> if their planning
> if their
> their
genrefags, eh?

>> No.6691206

>>6688559
>hey, hey mom guess what
>what honey
>i learned a really cool word today in kindergarten
>what word did you learn?
>imbecile
>that's really nice honey, maybe you can use it on 4chan while you shitpost tonight

>> No.6691276

If you don't hate everything you wrote before 2 years from any point you are in you haven't progressed at all

>> No.6692773

>>6688528
start drinking and/or smoking
be a mysogonist