r/writers

I’m currently experiencing mine.
I did 100% of my drafting using the iPhone notes app. Like a buffoon.
I don’t own a Mac.
I will be spending my holiday weekend manually transferring my massive manuscript chapter by chapter. Until my eyes fall out or my hands stop working. Whatever comes first.

I thought I found a workaround. But alas, my hare brain knows no bounds. I didn’t title them correctly, so when the computer sorts by chapter number, it is wildly out of order.

Gotta just take one on the chin. Lesson learned, do not write entire novels with my iPhone.

Wondering if anyone has any perspective, insights and opinions as to when or how or where the next great novel will come from? What would allow or enable the next JK Rowling to unleash their talent in today's world? It's been close to almost 30 years since the Philospher's Stone, and I don't think we've had anything close to rivalling JK Rowling in the recent years. Harry Potter transcends borders and cultures, just recently in Vietnam I hear my tour guide joking telling an elderly British guest he must've been Harry Potter when younger.

Hello, everyone. I seek advice on how I should go about publishing my work. I'd like to learn other writer's experiences before I decide how, where and even if I publish my work.

For context, almost a year ago I quit my full-time job because I just couldn't take it anymore. The hours, the pay, the work culture, the commute, everything was terrible, but it took me a long time to make the decision. I needed to save money, in case I didn't find new work right away, and I didn't want to put all the responsabilities on my husband.

Anyway, when I finally did, I went back to school to become an ESL teacher (English as a Second Language). It was an intensive program, and my husband suggested, since I had my savings and we were actually saving a lot of money because I didn't commute to work and I cooked everyday, that I focused on my studies instead of finding a new random job.

I was already anxious with all the changes. It was great to have his support but I still felt bad about not having an income. I did spend a lot of time studying but any free time I had, I felt sort of guilty for.

So, I started writing, just to distract myself. It worked. And now, I have four books... I never planned to plublish anything, and they are all completely different from each other, different genres. They all probably need a good editor... And my husband is the only person who has ever read them.

Now, my question is, if I decided to publish anything, what would be the simplest way to just put the books out there?

I am not good with social media, I have no contacts, and I really have no idea about the industry.

I have started to work as a teacher, and I don't have a lot of time now, but if you could point me in the right direction, I hope I can pick back up on this eventually.

Thank you for your attention! Hope to read whatever wisdom you'll be willing to share!

Hey guys i really want to write a book in english, but it's not my first language and i even have dyslexia, and i'm finding it hard to come up with structures and not repeating words and phrases, any help would be well received.

Maybe this is important im writting a fantasy/medieval book since i'm a real fan of the witcher series both books and games.

Thank you for your attention.

I usually write on my laptop, but it's becoming a hurdle to whip it out sometimes. It's a heavy, large device (I also so 3D and video editing). I'd like to write outside of the house more, but I don't want to drag this heavy, large thing to a bar or a park. I write on paper for parts of my process, but I prefer to have access to my (digital) notes.

I'm thinking of getting a tablet for this reason. My eye fell on the Lenovo Idea Tab. A budget model with a detachable keyboard. Small, lightweight, enough for text editing.

Who here has experience with this tablet, or others? Is it as convenient as I think, or is it too small to write comfortably over longer periods?

Sorry to bring this community such a depressing post, but r/writing doesn’t allow this topic, and I figure if anyone’s been through this, it’s probably someone here. Long story short, my ex-boss used my writing to produce things I’d never have approved of using The Technology Which Shall Not Be Named. I don’t know if I even want to write anymore, not after everything the world has done to show it doesn’t care about human writing over the past few years, and especially not after that.

I’m terrified that anything I share in the future would just be used in a similar way. There’s nothing I can do to prevent thoughtless or outright abusive people from misusing my words. At the same time, if I stop writing forever or never share my writing again, that feels like letting evil win somehow. I don’t know what to do.

I’ve been struggling to write a slow burn romance that’s feels satisfying and also mature I want the romance to feel honest, deserved and interesting all the way through and not to feel like it’s just there to tease the reader or for it to be boring. I’m planing on having the Romance start with the characters being very different and honestly having a dislike for one another but then eventually warming up to one another and then actually develop into romantic feeling with it being precent throughout the story.

Hello everyone, I am currently starting to write my 3rd book which will be my first novel, and it's a weather-type apocalypse that not only kills humans on the spot and flares up every couple weeks, but also (over the course of several months after initial events) turns other mammals into mutated human-flesh eaters, making them a danger.

I wanted to ask, what is often overlooked in the apocalypse? Are there common plot holes that I need to avoid? As I wouldn't consider myself a professional writer (I'm literally only 16 and no books published yet), I prefer to ask from actual writers on here.

Anyway thank you for any helpful advice!

Hey everyone! So basically, the post title. I'm curious to hear from people, particularly novelists and short story writers, who have as hard a time as I do finishing that first draft. What trips you up or holds you back?

I usually knock out a good chunk early on, but then fall into the very bad habit of going back the next day (or next writing session) and reading what I've written, then becoming obsessed with improving it with edits and re-edits before moving on, if I ever do. I can't tell you how many times this has happened, and how many times it has led to me becoming frustrated and abandoning a story altogether.

So what is it for you?

Well I'm hooked. It's hard work, but getting easier every day. I bust out 4 pages every day on my typewriter, and I love it. I'm thinking clearer. I have more patience. I don't drink. I don't smoke. Now that it's nice out, I just golf and write every day I'm not working. When i do work, i work and write. I have maybe an hour a day to watch tv or scroll on my phone. I wish i had more time to read, but I'm sure that'll come as I write quicker. My life has improved so much in the last few weeks. It's pretty clear to me that I'm going to be writing almost every day for the rest of my life.

Unfortunately, the world I created is too complex for me to be able to write a story in as well as I'd like. But I'm going to finish this story, make as many drafts as it takes me to be satisfied for now, and then table it until i become skilled enough to tell the stories correctly.

After this draft, I'll make a world that's easier to write about and work on stories set there. I'm very excited to see where my stories take me. Maybe one day I'll even be published (but that's more of a bonus than an expectation).

And to all of the people that said I'd run out of steam eventually, suck it.

I’m writing a supernatural academy romance book, or at least, my own unique take on it. I’m just wrapping up the first school year in the book, and I already have over 500 pages written.

Ideally, I’d like to talk about my FMC and her friends doing an assignment and then skip over to the next year where the girls have a continuation of said assignment, only a more difficult version of it.

However, I don’t want to come across as inexperienced or tacky as I’ve already skipped from January of the second semester to the start of the summer and will have a few summer chapters, but ideally, not too many as I don’t want to bore readers should I decide to publish on day by writing a book that’s over a thousand pages.

While I could break the novel up into three books, ideally, I don’t want to because I picture each book being narrated by one of the friends, though my FMC’s friend’s stories will focus on them finding love after they leave the academy and the challenges they go through.

Any advice from fellow writers?

Thank you so much for your time.

I just finished chapter 2 and I should be riding the high of it. Instead I spent yesterday afternoon scrolling through old notes trying to figure out whether I'd already established that a side character has a sister. I'd written it two different ways in two different files and couldn't remember which version was the one I'd actually committed to. So now she has a sister and doesn't have a sister, depending on which document you open.

This is not new. Minor character names I've forgotten and reinvented. A timeline I keep almost-getting-right. A magic system whose rules I rewrote so many times I can't remember which draft of the rules the story is actually following. A web of relationships between three families that I swear was crystal clear in my head last spring.

I've tried the usual suspects. One enormous Google doc that became unsearchable around page forty. A Notion setup so elaborate I spent more time tending to it than writing. Scrivener's binder, which is wonderful until it isn't. Index cards on a corkboard, which lasted until the cat.

So I'm genuinely asking how do you handle this when you're deep into a long project? Is there a system that actually holds together past 30,000 words, or is the answer just "get better at remembering"?

Especially curious how people working on series or longer novels manage it, because I keep assuming there's a trick I haven't learned ye

I’m writing my very first manuscript. I genuinely love this idea and hope it could work as a strong standalone with series potential later on.

The problem is that I keep seeing opposite advice. Some writers say to just write the story you care about most because your first book teaches you how to write. Others say not to “use” your favorite idea too early while you’re still developing your skills and process.

So now I’m conflicted.

In your opinion, should I go ahead and write the story, or should I write something else first to improve as a writer before tackling the story I care about most?

I’d really appreciate advice from writers who’ve been through this.

I’ve been researching laptops mainly for writing novels and essays, and every review keeps mentioning keyboard quality like it’s the most important thing. I do type for hours sometimes, but I’m not sure how much difference it really makes until you actually use it long term.

For people who write a lot, did you actually notice a big difference between laptops with “good” keyboards vs average ones, or is it something you just adapt to over time? Also curious if external keyboards ended up being part of your setup later on.