Do you write stories?

[Nismonath5]

I'm currently writing series of stories with characters based on my friends circles and experiences. It centres around a group of teens caught up in a war between a private crimefighting organisation and a terrorist group unknown to authorities and world leaders. The organisation enlists the teens, and systematically picks apart the terrorist group by destroying their financial income, stealing their data, etc. all leading up to an epic final confrontation...

I'm quite literally making it up as I go, I'll write a few pages, leave it for days, get back to it and make some more... it's really neat! Done two parts already, working on the third!

 

[Obelisk]

I'm currently writing series of stories with characters based on my friends circles and experiences. It centres around a group of teens caught up in a war between a private crimefighting organisation and a terrorist group unknown to authorities and world leaders. The organisation enlists the teens, and systematically picks apart the terrorist group by destroying their financial income, stealing their data, etc. all leading up to an epic final confrontation...

I'm quite literally making it up as I go, I'll write a few pages, leave it for days, get back to it and make some more... it's really neat! Done two parts already, working on the third!

You should at least create a few planned points ahead of time to keep the storyline from going astray.

 

[Nismonath5]

You should at least create a few planned points ahead of time to keep the storyline from going astray.

I'm working closely alongside a friend for an extra input, and we have the backbone of the plot sussed, it's just a matter of fleshing out the details that's getting done as I go.

 

[Com Fox]

A good tip on writing the stories on picturing how you want the story to end. You can change the planned ending as you write but it's good to have some direction to your stories.

 

[Nismonath5]

A good tip on writing the stories on picturing how you want the story to end. You can change the planned ending as you write but it's good to have some direction to your stories.

Yes that's true, I have a vivid idea of how it will end... Lots of emotional strings pulled, some memorable quotes and some unexpected revelations... It's gonna be awesome

 

[JKgo]

Yes that's true, I have a vivid idea of how it will end... Lots of emotional strings pulled, some memorable quotes and some unexpected revelations... It's gonna be awesome

...Good luck, dude. No, seriously. In my experience, writing a sprawling narrative with a ton of complex characters interacting with each other while sounding like real human beings turns out to be a mammoth task.

If you don't mind me asking, have you uploaded the story you've written so far on a website? If so, can you direct me there? I'm mighty interested in reading it, you see....

 

[Nismonath5]

...Good luck, dude. No, seriously. In my experience, writing a sprawling narrative with a ton of complex characters interacting with each other while sounding like real human beings turns out to be a mammoth task.

If you don't mind me asking, have you uploaded the story you've written so far on a website? If so, can you direct me there? I'm mighty interested in reading it, you see....

Nah, at the moment it's all hand written on paper, but when it's all completed I'll chuck it online somewhere, not sure where yet. Good to know there's interest! I already used Part 1 as a high school writing assignment and got the highest endorsement possible so at least I know part 1's pretty good according to the English teachers over here!

 

[Brutaka]

Hey all. I've been working on a medieval-based magic story for a very long time (3 years) with a friend of mine from High School. In those 2 years I've been readjusting, writing, and readjusting the story over and over again. We've made huge strides with it this past year and now I feel confident enough to show others the work I've done so far. So far I have about 75% of my side of the story figured out and how I want my part to go. I wanted to share with you guys the first chapter in the first full-length story; The Afro Knight. It is linked below as a pdf.

The story is action oriented with a hint of comedy and drama. I have taken inspiration from multiple animes and American comics.

Below, I have drawings of the important characters so you can get a better idea on how they look (I didn't draw them).

Spoiler: Pictures

(Percy Lakes)
(Walter Warr)
(Marcus West)

 

[JKgo]

Hey all. I've been working on a medieval-based magic story for a very long time (3 years) with a friend of mine from High School. In those 2 years I've been readjusting, writing, and readjusting the story over and over again. We've made huge strides with it this past year and now I feel confident enough to show others the work I've done so far. So far I have about 75% of my side of the story figured out and how I want my part to go. I wanted to share with you guys the first chapter in the first full-length story; The Afro Knight. It is linked below as a pdf.

The story is action oriented with a hint of comedy and drama. I have taken inspiration from multiple animes and American comics.

Below, I have drawings of the important characters so you can get a better idea on how they look (I didn't draw them).

Spoiler: Pictures

View attachment 622749(Percy Lakes)
View attachment 622750(Walter Warr)
View attachment 622751(Marcus West)

...I read your chapter with Afro Samurai BMG in my head. It's perfect. Didn't expect that hair pick, though.

 

[JKgo]

...So, here's a status update.

I've concluded Aeterna Saga's first volume at chapter 47. Currently, I've been writing another webnovel called Red Souls and today, posted the "cleaned" version of chapter 21.

Spoiler: Link to the story

http://fantasy-books.live/red-souls/red-souls/

I think my overall writing style has improved somewhat in the last year or so. I make less grammar-related mistakes than before and when I read my own stuff, specifically the stuff written recently, while not wanting to sound like an ass, I think they are not too shabby, not at all.

Now, I've been seriously thinking about money. Specifically, Patreon/PayPal donations thingamajiggy. I write almost constantly but other than the satisfaction of knowing my readers had a good time reading my stuff, nothing else comes out of it.

And when I see the translators translating countless Korean, Chinese and Japanese novels mostly without the original author's permission making a killing I'm somewhat bitter about the whole thing. Maybe I should just stop this writing malarkey and start translating a novel or something, charge upwards of $60 for a chapter and stuff. Because that's what some of the most successful translators charge for an extra chapter release nowadays....

 

[JKgo]

...Another status update.

I've nominally finished Red Souls and am currently on a short break. That novel's done with 29 chapters in total. I originally planned to make it in the mid-20s but overshot it slightly. No biggie.

Next up, I'd like to go back to Aeterna Saga and do some housekeeping, see where I messed up in the old chapters and fix them. After that, I'll start on the 2nd volume. But I'm going to take my time doing all of that - I've been writing non-stop for the last few months and my brain tells me I should slow down for a while. Which is funny, considering I've got other story ideas busy crying out for a release in my head...

Oh, and I'd appreciate if any one of you GTP members, as erudite and well read as you all are, to check out my novels and tell me what you think overall. Pointing out plot holes and mistakes would be very much helpful as well. Thanks.

Spoiler: Links

Aeterna Saga at Fantasy Books: https://fantasy-books.live/aeterna-saga/aeterna-saga/

Red Souls at Fantasy Books: https://fantasy-books.live/red-souls/red-souls/

 

[Darla Starch]

Oh hey, I'm back. WWE Game of Thrones is going nowhere fast. Skipping to another tale.

This one's about an eclectic backyard wrestling "promotion". Crowdsourced characters from another message board I visit, and only put two restrictions on characters, mainly around their ages (12 to 19).

As a result, I've got to write for, among other things: perverts, cosplayers, nerds, a Russian baddie from Lithuania, a luchadore swim jock, Jesus Christ, and a faction of neo-Nazi insects.

The crazy thing is: the wrestling has taken second fiddle to the real-world drama thrown in.

Conversations are about all I've gotten written to date. (And I've been at this off and on for nearly two years now)

 

[JKgo]

Oh hey, I'm back. WWE Game of Thrones is going nowhere fast. Skipping to another tale.

This one's about an eclectic backyard wrestling "promotion". Crowdsourced characters from another message board I visit, and only put two restrictions on characters, mainly around their ages (12 to 19).

As a result, I've got to write for, among other things: perverts, cosplayers, nerds, a Russian baddie from Lithuania, a luchadore swim jock, Jesus Christ, and a faction of neo-Nazi insects.

The crazy thing is: the wrestling has taken second fiddle to the real-world drama thrown in.

Conversations are about all I've gotten written to date. (And I've been at this off and on for nearly two years now)

...For some reason, after reading your post, I can't help but picture an anime-style loli pervert drooling at the sights of spandex-wearing wrestlers. Argh, my brain!! Dang it!!

 

[Darla Starch]

...For some reason, after reading your post, I can't help but picture an anime-style loli pervert drooling at the sights of spandex-wearing wrestlers. Argh, my brain!! Dang it!!

Not actually totally wrong on that front. I actually have a spot written in a match with him blatantly looking up the skirt of the female cosplayer (who'd be dressing as Rikku from Final Fantasy X-2), possible attempted panty thief spot, which in-story won't be planned.


...yeah, much laxer rules where I intend to post this.

 

[JohnBM01]

I haven't developed any of my stories that I have in mind. Since I am trying to create some material for the PC fighting game M.U.G.E.N., I am considering returning to the eBook circuit basically to devise storylines and bios for characters I am developing for the game. That even includes a project I thought of back in 2008 that hasn't materialized until I gave it a second chance these days.

 

[Brutaka]

Hey all. I've been working on a medieval-based magic story for a very long time (3 years) with a friend of mine from High School. In those 2 years I've been readjusting, writing, and readjusting the story over and over again. We've made huge strides with it this past year and now I feel confident enough to show others the work I've done so far. So far I have about 75% of my side of the story figured out and how I want my part to go. I wanted to share with you guys the first chapter in the first full-length story; The Afro Knight. It is linked below as a pdf.

The story is action oriented with a hint of comedy and drama. I have taken inspiration from multiple animes and American comics.

Below, I have drawings of the important characters so you can get a better idea on how they look (I didn't draw them).

Spoiler: Pictures

View attachment 622749(Percy Lakes)
View attachment 622750(Walter Warr)
View attachment 622751(Marcus West)

UPDATE. Ive actually finished the rough draft of the story (It's actually been done since May but anyways), I've decided to take a break from that series for now as it is very tricky to write as my first novel and this is like my holy grail of all my stories. I want tp start off with shorter and easier novels and then once my writing skills have improved I will return to this story.

Speaking of new stories, I've been drafting ideas for about 5 different ones since the summer began. Ive narrowed down my focus to 2 and I should be deciding which one to pursue very soon.

Edit: If anyone was interested in reading the rough draft of the Afro Knight story then send me a personal message. Its about 80 pages and full of errors so don't expect too much. I would love the feedback.

 

[Silver Arrows]

I don't write stories, but does text roleplaying count? I've done that since about 2012, I think.

 

[photonrider]

I don't write stories, but does text roleplaying count? I've done that since about 2012, I think.

We're all writers.

What do you think we're doing?

This is a Forum; an archaic concept in today's high-speed networking, and yet an actual evolution in gathering together intellects that promote their opinions on diverse subjects, providing facts to back those opinions - or at the very least falling back on recording our subjective perception of particular phenomena, events, people, etc.

We're writers first; that's what we do here. We're literati or else we wouldn't bother to use words at all, and not doing so would only make any Forum redundant.

Okay, so we post some visuals, too. Times have changed.

Write, write, write! Right here!


Some editing could aid lucidity on occasion.

 

[JKgo]

...So, a status update - yet another one within a month.

https://fantasy-books.live/a-monster-who-levels-up/a-monster-who-levels-up/

When you click on the link above, you shall be redirected to a website where I've begun translating a Korean novel into English. The novel's called A Monster Who Levels Up - yeah, I know, it's a, uh, catchy title. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

I'm planning to still work on my own original novel as well, but I will need to divide my time smartly to accomplish this. Otherwise, there's a real danger of burning up from too much writing and stuff. Hopefully, I can somehow manage it. Wish me luck - oh, and once more, please do check out the link above. Thanks!!

 

[Com Fox]

So after a few failed drafts. I gave up making fan fictions and decided to write my own material.

Currently drawing the character designs as well as the personalities so I have an understanding of everyone before I stat to actually write.

I don't know if I want it to be filled with multiple sagas akin to long series anime or have an actual ending to it all.

It's a fantasy (perhaps mystery as well if you consider it), placed in our existing world about colourful orbs being discovered and placed around the world, however once touched by a living being, the energy is transferred into the being turning them into a creature according to the colour, and akin to Green Lanturn, the beings then get the power to use their thoughts into power however while the usage is unlimited only certain thoughts will work depending on the colour of the orb, so victims of this occurance have to go through some "imaginary training" to know what powers they can use or not.

The main character is the first person to be affected by making contact with a Green Orb turning him into a Green, Battery powered Dragon as he goes on a quest to discover the meaning of this power and who is responsible, while encountering others affected as well.

First time writing something from scratch so would like to know some recommendations on how to improve the premise to make it more engaging.

 

[Brutaka]

So after a few failed drafts. I gave up making fan fictions and decided to write my own material.

Currently drawing the character designs as well as the personalities so I have an understanding of everyone before I stat to actually write.

I don't know if I want it to be filled with multiple sagas akin to long series anime or have an actual ending to it all.

It's a fantasy (perhaps mystery as well if you consider it), placed in our existing world about colourful orbs being discovered and placed around the world, however once touched by a living being, the energy is transferred into the being turning them into a creature according to the colour, and akin to Green Lanturn, the beings then get the power to use their thoughts into power however while the usage is unlimited only certain thoughts will work depending on the colour of the orb, so victims of this occurance have to go through some "imaginary training" to know what powers they can use or not.

The main character is the first person to be affected by making contact with a Green Orb turning him into a Green, Battery powered Dragon as he goes on a quest to discover the meaning of this power and who is responsible, while encountering others affected as well.

First time writing something from scratch so would like to know some recommendations on how to improve the premise to make it more engaging.

• Make a character bio template one that includes personality, abilities, history, etc. That helps with keeping your character consistent.
• If you have a lot of action oriented into the story make sure you have a clear and concise power ceiling, as in how powerful a person in your universe can become, because when you just wing it from story to story than it's a good chance that your abilities are gonna go all over the place (A good example of this is Naruto). Also jumping off of that...
• Have an idea on what your conclusion or end goal is gonna be before you even begin the drafting process for the first chapters. Knowing where you want to end helps when trying to figure out where to start.
• Don't be afraid to use temporary names/ locations/ etc, it takes too much time to come up with unique and witty names for characters when you first come up with them, and then it gets frustrating when you decide that you don't want to use that character.

 

[Darla Starch]

Playing around with a few youngish ideas, both also wrestling related.

One's turn of the 20th century, back when pro wrestling was mostly a legitimate sport. Other is primarily 60's and 70's, around Bruno Sammartino's time. Both are original universes.

 

[Com Fox]

• Make a character bio template one that includes personality, abilities, history, etc. That helps with keeping your character consistent.
• If you have a lot of action oriented into the story make sure you have a clear and concise power ceiling, as in how powerful a person in your universe can become, because when you just wing it from story to story than it's a good chance that your abilities are gonna go all over the place (A good example of this is Naruto). Also jumping off of that...
• Have an idea on what your conclusion or end goal is gonna be before you even begin the drafting process for the first chapters. Knowing where you want to end helps when trying to figure out where to start.
• Don't be afraid to use temporary names/ locations/ etc, it takes too much time to come up with unique and witty names for characters when you first come up with them, and then it gets frustrating when you decide that you don't want to use that character.

Thanks, this helps.

Speaking of action and power ceiling, I was thinking of taking a different approach in action and instead relying on power to win, you have to use the powers the orbs give you to the best of your abilities with planning and good combat skills so you have rely more on logical thinking and training during fights instead of emotion and power levels.

I'm thinking about showing this with a mode the orb holders can go through when they get too emotional which while it give you extremely more power, it is impossible to control, causes a lot of casualties and in the mode you lose all train of thought and are locked into 1 attack making you extremely predictable and easy to counter.

 

[Com Fox]

Really struggling with writing my story right now with the first chapter.

Problem 1 is that the transition to the conflict, currently stuck on introducing the characters, after that I plan to introduce the first conflict but don't know how to transition to it fluidly.

Problem 2 is the title, so far it is called "Imaginary Beasts", but I don't feel confident in the name. Feel like it could be better and doesn't exactly suit the nature of the plot.

 

[JKgo]

...A status update.

Weeeell, I've pretty much put my personal novels on hold. I have to - as my "side" translation job has literally taken over my life. I just can't find free time to write my own stuff. It's not a rant of unhappiness, though, as I am extremely grateful for all the support from the community at large.

Plus.... I've made some money on the side as well. That's one of those nice benefits from doing this translation thing. If you can read & write any Asian languages, primarily Japanese, Chinese - possibly Mandarin - and/or Korean. I recommend giving translation a go. Admittedly, it's not for everyone, as the time commitment can be deceptively harsh.

"Imaginary Beasts"

The Imaginary Beasts and Where to Find Them?! Hmmm....

 

[Com Fox]

Well 🤬 forgot that existed, back to the drawing board for a title

 

[JKgo]

Well 🤬 forgot that existed, back to the drawing board for a title

.... It's actually "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", but well...

 

[JKgo]

...Another status update.

I've mentioned before that I'm currently translating a Korean web novel. Also that, I've been making a little bit on the side.

Well, to tell you the truth, I've earned, on average, $120 per week translating chapters - only from the generous donations of the readers. If I count the advertising revenue from the number of unique visits to the site, then well, that figure goes up considerably higher.

Now if that's not a motivation to work harder, I've no idea what else could be. Anyways, if you're interested, feel free to check it out, here:

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/a-monster-who-levels-up/

 

[JohnBM01]

I began thinking about my ambitious story again. This time, I thought about a certain scene that could make it interesting. I don't have any clear-cut direction with my story. The story is mostly just a scattering of ideas that have yet to be put together, like a jigsaw puzzle. To stay with the analogy, I am slowly looking to piece everything together. Stories- like most other forms of entertainment- can take time to develop and may be a collection of ideas with no real coherence. The real challenge is to put everything together and make something amazing.

 

[JohnBM01]

Recently, I thought of getting away from trying to develop a game to simply putting some of my game projects into stories. I have somewhat wanted to embrace writing more than I ever have. Trouble is, I never have considered myself a great writer, and I don't enjoy writing and reading as much as I probably should. However, I've always had some sort of knack for typing up all kinds of stuff- whether blogging, message board posts, or whatever.

I hinted on an ambitious story I was developing in a previous post. Now, I am considering an ambitious short story. My ambitious story projects tend to revolve around LGBT-related romance. I am not speaking from any experience, but more along having certain themes. Romance is outside of my main character and is not my forte. I am, however, willing to give it a try and put together something smartly.

If ever I complete any of these projects as eBooks, these will be my first fictional works. The previous two eBooks I made are nonfictional life issue material.