Writing Tips - Let's help each other not be crap.

[Fromtheblackdepths]

Both, but fictional ones in particular.

Ehh. I say its a-okay. Everyone loves a reinterpretation,look at all the reboots, though in my opinion if it goes way too far than I get sort of irked.

 

[BrunoMattei]

So, I've finally gotten off my ass and begun actually writing my novel for the first time earlier this afternoon and I intend to self-publish it once it's finished, aiming to have it ready for sale by October or November of next year, so I'm probably gonna have to devote a lot of time to it.

I spent about thirty minutes on it today in Microsoft Word, and I have four and a half pages and around 2329 words written so far, which isn't much but it's a start.

Gonna spend more time on it over the weekend and I'll admit I've only got a very rough outline of the story that's mostly just a short list of bullet points.

It's told from a first-person POV and while I know that's pretty cringe, I always admit I kind of like that point of view.

The genre is kind of hard to explain though and that might be tricky for the self-publishing but I'll have to finish the damn thing first before I self-publish it.

It's ostensibly a mafia story and the main character is a young man who becomes a mobster almost by sheer dumb luck. The concepts of fate, coincidence, and fortune are meant as a core theme but there's also a lot of other genre elements within it.

The story is set around 2010 and is sort of an alternate history, but it's not a traditional one with a major point of divergence. More of a subtle alternate timeline (AKA in this world, it's spelled Berenstein Bears) with the closest thing to a real point of divergence is that the RICO Act is never passed so the Italian Mafia is a lot stronger in the modern era as a result.

I know there's a thread dedicated to self-publishing but it hasn't been updated in over a year from the looks of it, so I figured I'd post here instead.

As an unrelated side note, what are your thoughts on writing stories featuring public domain figures as major characters?

How is first person cringe? Some of the best novels are first person.

 

[Syaoran Li]

How is first person cringe? Some of the best novels are first person.

I don't even know why it is, but I've seen so many people complain if a story is written in first-person and see it as a sign of bad writing for some reason.

 

[BrunoMattei]

I don't even know why it is, but I've seen so many people complain if a story is written in first-person and see it as a sign of bad writing for some reason.

Those people are faggots. Write however the fuck you want.

 

[Fromtheblackdepths]

I don't even know why it is, but I've seen so many people complain if a story is written in first-person and see it as a sign of bad writing for some reason.

Well yeah, sometimes people go full snark with their characters or do weird writing effects. Look at Web Serial Novels and you'll get what I mean.

 

[Syaoran Li]

Well yeah, sometimes people go full snark with their characters or do weird writing effects. Look at Web Serial Novels and you'll get what I mean.

Understandable and I don't really intend to go overboard with snark or include any funky writing effects in my novel.

With my novel, the protagonist does use contractions and slang or regional expressions but that's honestly just realistic. The average person doesn't really speak or think in a fully grammatically correct way in real life.

On another note, I've also wondered about self-publishing an audio book one day in the future if I can get this book finished and actually published.

 

[Mr. 0]

The story is set around 2010 and is sort of an alternate history, but it's not a traditional one with a major point of divergence. More of a subtle alternate timeline (AKA in this world, it's spelled Berenstein Bears) with the closest thing to a real point of divergence is that the RICO Act is never passed so the Italian Mafia is a lot stronger in the modern era as a result.

Might be asking for too much info but will this explore how la cosa nostra evolved with the times (or how it influenced shit behind the scenes) and include any fights with other organized crime (like the more brutal and psychotic Russian Mafiyas)?

 

[Syaoran Li]

Might be asking for too much info but will this explore how la cosa nostra evolved with the times (or how it influenced shit behind the scenes) and include any fights with other organized crime (like the more brutal and psychotic Russian Mafiyas)?

Yes to both, albeit from a limited perspective at first.

The "RICO never came into existence" POD will have interesting implications to how the mob developed into this timeline's version of the 21st Century.

The Russian Mafia do play a role in the story, but so do several other gangs and organizations.

 

[Fromtheblackdepths]

Yes to both, albeit from a limited perspective at first.

The "RICO never came into existence" POD will have interesting implications to how the mob developed into this timeline's version of the 21st Century.

The Russian Mafia do play a role in the story, but so do several other gangs and organizations.

Can you give us a list or is that too much?

 

[Syaoran Li]

Can you give us a list or is that too much?

I don't want to reveal too much of the story, to be honest. But I can give you a few bits of info.

First off, I'm going to be taking the GTA approach and have fictional gangs and organizations that are meant to be direct parallels for real ones. Part of it is to prevent any potential legal mishaps and part of it is to help sell the "this timeline is not actually our own" angle more.

Here's a list of just a few gangs you'll see in my story, with any applicable real-life equivalents in parentheses

1. Genova Crime Family (DeCavalcante Crime Family)
2. Karloff Bratva (The Brothers Circle)
3. The O'Brien Boys (Westies/Winter Hill Gang)
4. Hamilton Avenue Posse (Bloods)
5. Vandals MC (Pagans MC)
6. Northside Homeboys (Crips)

The main character is affiliated with the Genova Crime Family, beginning as a young delivery driver at a local pizza joint owned by one of the family's made men.

The basic set up is that the protagonist gets his start doing small time odd jobs for the owner, usually driving him to and from places or acting as an occasional courier and becomes an associate of the family after proving himself to be a reliable worker and from there, that's where the story really begins.

 

[Fromtheblackdepths]

1. Genova Crime Family (DeCavalcante Crime Family)
2. Karloff Bratva (The Brothers Circle)
3. The O'Brien Boys (Westies/Winter Hill Gang)
4. Hamilton Avenue Posse (Bloods)
5. Vandals MC (Pagans MC)
6. Northside Homeboys (Crips)

Those are some interesting gang choices. What made you choose them?

 

[Syaoran Li]

Those are some interesting gang choices. What made you choose them?

Well, the story is set in a fictional small town in New Jersey that's sorta close to NYC and I mainly looked up the gangs active in the area of northern New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island.

Granted, the Brothers Circle are more based in Russia proper but Russian and Ukrainian gangsters have been extremely active in Brooklyn and parts of Long Island since Bush Sr. was in the White House while Bloods, Crips, and Pagans are a major fixture of gangs and organized crime in New Jersey, as are the Latin Kings.

The Irish Mob isn't quite as active in New York these days and The Westies of the 70's and 80's were more of a last gasp for the Irish Mob in NYC, but that can be excused via alternate history and RICO never taking effect in this timeline.

 

[Fromtheblackdepths]

Well, the story is set in a fictional small town in New Jersey that's sorta close to NYC and I mainly looked up the gangs active in the area of northern New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island.

Granted, the Brothers Circle are more based in Russia proper but Russian and Ukrainian gangsters have been extremely active in Brooklyn and parts of Long Island since Bush Sr. was in the White House while Bloods, Crips, and Pagans are a major fixture of gangs and organized crime in New Jersey, as are the Latin Kings.

The Irish Mob isn't quite as active in New York these days and The Westies of the 70's and 80's were more of a last gasp for the Irish Mob in NYC, but that can be excused via alternate history and RICO never taking effect in this timeline.

I would love to see your reference books.

 

[Syaoran Li]

I would love to see your reference books.

Honestly, a lot of the references came from Nat Geo and History Channel documentaries and online sources as well as the DeCavalcante Family's history and how they were the direct inspiration for The Sopranos.

I do remember looking up some law enforcement PDF's about gangs in various counties of New Jersey, I'll see if I can find them.

 

[harold11vm]

I would love to see your reference books.

Sometimes it's not so hard to write down reference book, as hard as compose a genuine essay, that will not getting any phrase from other essays. Too bad, but few weeks ago, when I had no time for it, I figured out that i need someone to write my paper for me, and the biggest concern was exactly about it's genuine. They wrote it for me, and I simply didn't know how to check it for uniqueness.

 

[naught sock account 1]

write until you finish, most first drafts are weak but get it out...
end sentences on hard words...
utilize third person and first person perspective...
get grammarly...
enjoy it...
mix genres and play to the strength of your medium...

 

[Syaoran Li]

Something I've been wondering about is how to handle crossovers and "shared universe" concepts in fiction...

I know that type of shit is usually the purview of fanfiction, but it's entirely possible someone could write an entire series of books or short stories using public domain characters like Dracula or Sherlock Holmes for the focus and I'm sure there are plenty out there who have done just that or at least tried to.

Alan Moore initially went for a similar concept with his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics but then it veered off into a whole new rabbit hole of insanity because it's Alan Moore we're talking about here.

 

[Evian Les Rutabaga]

Something I've been wondering about is how to handle crossovers and "shared universe" concepts in fiction...

I know that type of shit is usually the purview of fanfiction, but it's entirely possible someone could write an entire series of books or short stories using public domain characters like Dracula or Sherlock Holmes for the focus and I'm sure there are plenty out there who have done just that or at least tried to.

With a shared universe, the trick is ensuring that both characters make sense in the setting and the physics and metaphysics fundamentally work the same whether it's our old pal Drac or Mr. Holmes who has the camera on him at the moment. Neither one would be out of place in Shadowrun's Sixth World because the supernatural exists and investigation skills are valuable.

Ideally, the total cost in blood, sweat, and tears to pull off Awesome Stunt A by Method B or Method Z matches up with how much the setting favors the methods or what barriers it puts in the way. If lighting a candle by magic alone requires stupendous amounts of concentration in your world, the favored "spell" should be "First, get a candle. Next, strike a match. Repeat as needed." Lighting a city on fire might be "Call in Harry the Mage" (quadratic-scaling magic) or "Hire Genghis for a real hot time" (some Mongols required)

 

[Deftones]

Question (and this is the first year I wanted to seriously finish a story), but is it common to have multiple (five) drafts for your story?

Every time I tell myself that my idea isn't working and I should just move on, I keep on going back to it.

This current draft is still flawed imo. However, as of late, I've been revisiting it and coming up with a new, clearer plan for my characters/plot. Hell, I'm even enjoying writing it.

 

[DamageJoy]

What I can recommend to improve all creative works is observe the world around you, without judgement. It will help you write characters, interactions etc much better.
Creativity is just putting together your experiences in new or fun ways after all. The more you saw/experienced the easier it will be for you to stand out.