r/novelwriting

In my novel, the antagonist works as a handler for a delivery company (UPS, or a fictitious one). as a sidebar in the story, he and several employees have a theft ring there they unload certain electronic packages and avoid scanning on the inventory sheet, print out address that go to them or other friends address and then either keep the product or sell them to friends. it's in the story because my antagonist will go to jail for the theft, in addition to the assault he commits against the protagonist. I don't know much about delivery, but would this be plausible? Do I need to go into details about this since this isn't a major part of the story? Also, would there be way for my protagonist to figure out something and help turn him over to the police if they are investigating?

I know this i a lot, and forgive me if I'm asking stupid questions, I am doing research, but I thought I would also reach out to this reddit group as part of my research.

Thank you so much

This is an idea I made recently and I wanna share it to the community as a newbie:

It is about a neurodivergent and sensitive 19 year old teenager, Liam Davidson by name, struggling with depression, distrust, and fatigue of constantly feeling like a liability and disappointment for others, decides to seek therapy as a last resort after almost all of his friends left him from not putting up with him. However, the therapist is actually a corrupt nutjob who preys on the vulnerable and manipulates Liam into going to a mental hospital, where he keeps him locked away under his control, while also lying about promises of treatment and him getting better. Throughout the novel, is put through many harsh and uncomfortable psychological and mental tests, and was conditioned by the therapist into a docile boy dependent on the therapist

I have all these ideas but I always end up stuck between deciding what narrator perspective to choose. I do like first person narration better but cant help but wonder how others must feel...

English is not my native language, nor its the choice of sub-conscious when dreaming. I find my thoughts losing their essence in delivery. I have a great plot in mind, but my choice of words don't do justice to what I want to say. Growing up trilingual, I received enough education in English to build a career, but not enough to produce literary epics. Will a gripping plot with awesome characters be enough to overcome the flaws of average writing?

I've been getting ready to write my first-ever draft and I've been practicing writing for a while and feel confident enough to write it but also worried. I have done research and know that the people's first draft of a story won't be great or even terrible. I built my fantasy world and its characters and hold them dear to my heart.

Maybe I should just write it, finish it, and put it on a shelf then when I write other future stories when I'm more understanding my self as a writer finally go back and rewrite and polish it clear plot holes and rebuild the characters better and more enjoyable.

Is this the best way to move forward?

They say that the hardest part of starting a story is the beginning… and for me that is definitely true.

I used to struggle with the first scene because everything I would write felt somehow fake.

But I recently wrote an 80k fantasy romance novel and love my opening chapter.

What inspired me you may ask?

Crazy story: I was on a 5k run around a lake. It had metal barriers around it and the sky was stormy, the water reflecting me whilst looking like melted iron. I was speeding, listening to Panic at the Disco, and feeling great… then I saw a pigeon.

I went to run around the pigeon and instead it flew straight into me. I ended up tripping and falling flat on my face. Eating the concrete, my two front teeth broken in half, crying and calling my dad to come pick me up.

This led me to a couple of days of wallowing in self pity, eating ice cream and looking at my new fake teeth a lot. But it also made me slow down enough that I picked up my laptop and started writing my book.

So now the beginning of my book is of a character sat by that very same lake, looking out on the water and pitying herself (with an added beautiful man popping up out of the water).

So, the end of my teeth became the beginning of my book. Silver linings, huh?

How did you all start your books?

P.s. no pigeons were injured in the making of my book.

I'm looking for a working title for a thriller novel I'm writing and also help with the novel's blurb (what I would write on the back of the boo cover). Here is what I have:

Tonya Rhines is rebuilding her life as an MRI technologist in northern California. She’s growing in her Christian faith, finding solace in a support group, and making new friends at work. Things are good.
But then came the fateful text on her phone one night: Derrick’s been released on parole. He’s been out for a few days now.
Surviving and escaping her ex’s horrid abuse from three years ago infringed on Tonya’s mental peace. Now his threat –“I’ll kill you when I get out” – may become a terrifying reality. Derrick Jackson, full of rage and packing knives, has figured out where she works and plans to finish the job. But can she draw courage from her faith to finally fight back?  

Possible titles I thought of are "Quench the Rage," or "Knives & Magnets," or "Poetic Irony" or "Magnetic Pull." What do you think? Are these cheesy? Does the blurb reveal too much or what should I work on?

Thank you so much for any input!

I’m writing a novel and I think it might actually be good

So I’ve been developing this story for about 6 months and I finally started writing it. Here’s the teaser:

Eyes of the Fallen

by Rk925thepro

In a city swallowed by silence and decay, a boy named Mysen survives alone — grieving, lost, and unaware that the world didn’t end by accident.

Something caused it.

Something with red eyes.

And somewhere in the shadows of the ruins, another set of eyes watches over him. Patient. Protective. Familiar.

As Mysen is pulled into a world of survival, unlikely allies, and brutal training, the truth about his father — and the godlike forces tearing the world apart — will slowly surface.

The city fell for a reason.

And Mysen might be the only one who can bring it back.

“Eyes of the Fallen” — coming soon

I’m planning weekly 5000 word chapters with a goal of 200,000 words total. The story follows a boy named Mysen in a post apocalyptic world, but there’s a much deeper mythology running underneath everything that I can’t wait for people to discover. Would anyone actually read this?

Little advice to give you a headstart. If you're publishing on Amazon, you'll need to either create a separate Amazon account or start a publishing page through KDP through your current Amazon. If you start a publishing page with your current Amazon (the one you use to shop) it does NOT expose your regular information, as long as you use a pen name. So you not NOT have to create a separate Amazon.

For eBook you'll need to combine your book into something called an 'Interior File'. That's everything that comes after the cover. And you'll also need a cover page, which should be a PNG. So an the INTERIOR FILE and COVER PAGE.

Paperback is a little more difficult. You will need page numbers, page breaks for every chapter, no bleed margins, and a different format for cover photo. Now the cover photo for paperback can be a really BISH. The way I did it is I waited until Amazon had my interior file. Once that is done Amazon will tell you (based off your pages) how big your cover photo is expected to be. Take a Word document, change it to landscape mode, change the document to the expect 'Height' and 'Width' that Amazon told you your cover photo is expected to be, insert the cover picture, stretch it to fill all gaps (shouldn't be far) and save it as a PDF. Paperback on Amazon requires both the interior file AND the cover to be a PDF. Once you launch Preview Launcer your cover should fill perfectly within their margins. You will know if the cover is wrong because Amazon won't let you continue unless it's corrected.

Only other thing I can tell you is ENROLL IN KDP SELECT. It locks you into a 90-day "can only sell eBook on Amazon" thing but it does not lock your paperback. You can still sell your paperback anywhere. And when the 90 days is up you can sell your eBook anywhere.

Why is KDP Select important? Because it allows people who subscribe to Kindle Unlimited to read your book for free and you get paid PER PAGE. It isn't much, but anytime someone reads your book for the first time, you get paid per page.

So with Amazon you could essentially be getting paid by Kindle Unlimited page reads, eBook retail sales, and paperback sales.

One last thing, paperback is Print-On-Demand, so you pay NOTHING. Amazon takes the cost of printing the book out of the price you list it for. My book was around 670 pages. It cost $9.02 to print. I priced it at $19.99. I make $3-4 per book. Obviously, your book will be different, but this was just an example.

Hope this helps!

You got this!

I believe in you!

First of all, I don't think that my chapter's worth a dime. I write stuff for fun. To let out ideas. And I don't even need readers.

I only need to showcase it so it's out there.

Now, I'm thinking of creating a shop where every creative product that I made is present there, including my novel.

But of course people can't read it unless they buy it. I don't know yet how payment system works but perhaps I can just set up a membership program (even for cheap) so they can read all chapters once they're a member?

I know that they might cancel the membership once they download what they need, haha...

But for me, I just need one single page for everything. I don't like the idea of sharing many links people can visit.

The hardest part of writing a book is momentum. I spent years opening up a blank Word file, writing, and deleting. And that is the first lesson. Don't delete. Keep everything. An idea you hate now might be an idea who wish you'd saved later. Also, do yourself a favor. If you have a notepad option on your phone, use it to write down every random idea you think might be good for the book. Don't do it later. Do it now. I have a text message that sends to myself. Whenever an idea pops in my head I text it to myself. That same principle goes for ideas, characters, and lore dumps. Don't destroy. Store. I spent years thinking about my book. Then, I finally got up the courage to start writing. By that time I had so many ideas I couldn't help myself. What started as a plan for 35 chapters soon became 65, and by the time I was done I was staring at a 114 chapter MONSTER. Yeah, it's not the most sellable debut novel, but it's everything I wanted to say in my story. Don't compromise your vision. Store every thought you have and review it later. Oh, and one more thing. Never stop taking in inspiration. Watch movies you never thought you'd watch. Play video games. Open a book you have no business reading. Never stop feeding your brain. You might be surprised at what pops out. Good luck writers!

Hi, im a new guy of writing, i had idea of a novel about dystopia，sorry im not a English speaker, so i Google it, it said my idea called dystopia, i feel both happy and loss at the same time, do you have same feelings? And also how you deal with the people that couldn't understand your spirit because they never thingking and just living their daily life like a walking dead?

Toronto knew death was near when the final compile finished without a single error.

For three seconds, he stared at the green message on his laptop screen and felt nothing. No joy. No relief. Not even the tiny spark of pride that usually appeared after surviving another impossible deadline. Build succeeded.

His HRIS module worked. The login page accepted credentials. The dashboard loaded. The reports did not explode. Somewhere, in a kinder universe, that would have meant sleep.

In this universe, it meant his thesis adviser would ask for revisions in the morning. Toronto blinked once as the room tilted.

A cold cup of coffee sat beside a tangled mess of wires, bread wrappers, circuit boards, and printed diagrams marked with red pen. His running shoes were still wet from the morning marathon he had joined because some cruel part of him believed discipline built character.

He had no character left, only battery warning.

"Finally," he whispered, and let his forehead touch the keyboard. The laptop chimed.

Toronto died before he could close the lid.

When he opened his eyes again, people were chanting at him.

That was rude.

A circle of blue-white light burned beneath his back. Tall pillars rose around him, carved with unfamiliar symbols that looked suspiciously like someone had forced a medieval cathedral to run a user interface. Priests in silver robes knelt on both sides of the circle. Knights stood at attention. Nobles watched from a balcony with the hungry expression of people expecting free entertainment.

At the far end of the hall, a golden-haired king lifted both hands.

"Otherworlder Hero!" the king declared. "Almanos has answered our prayer!"

Toronto closed his eyes.

No.

Genuinely curious how other people handle this because I feel like nobody talks about the organizational side of novel writing enough.

Like the actual logistics of it. You've got character details you decided in chapter two that matter again in chapter fourteen. World-building rules you set early on that you half-remember. Research you did three months ago that's now buried somewhere. Timeline decisions that made sense when you wrote them but now you're not sure they add up.

How do you keep all of that connected to your actual draft? Do you have a system that works or are you mostly holding it together in your head and hoping for the best?

I've tried a few different things over the years. Notion, spreadsheets, index cards, a physical board on my wall at one point. Some of it helped for a while but nothing really stuck until I started keeping everything notes, research, character details, and the draft itself, together in one Skrib writing studio instead of jumping between apps.

.For me that context switching was where I was losing the most time and momentum. Not the writing itself but everything around it. Having it all in one workspace changed that more than I expected.

So what does your setup look like? What's working, what isn't, and what do you wish you'd figured out earlier?