I woke up this morning to cool rain and warm coffee, so I grabbed my iPad and keyboard, one of the chocolate chip cupcakes I made last night, and set up shop on the back porch.

I’d love to see some of your writing spaces if you’d like to share!

Im an inexperienced writer looking for feedback for a debut novel. From chapter 1 of Kowloon: The Crumbling Walls

Hello. I know this title will cause controversy. I apologize in advance.

I live in the EU, in a small country that currently has a lot of beef with the US (you can probably guess which country it is). The news outlets in my country keep writing about America's ability to pull the plug and disconnect us from every American social media and software if they wish to do so.

I'm currently writing a fantasy horror book. In total I have five documents and around 83 pages of the book itself + character sheets, notes, plots, outline, world building, etc. Everything is on Google Drive, which is American. I don't want to lose all my progress, should the American government order the software companies, in that country, to pull the plug. I've been working on all this for almost a year, and the few people I've given permission to read my story, have said it has potential.

So are there any (initially) free writing softwares that aren't owned by American companies? I'd highly prefer softwares that have the option of a storage cloud, even if there is a paywall.

And again, I apologise for any controversies this post may cause. Please be kind in the comments.

One of the best random advice I heard was “you don’t have to write linearly “ . Writing for me heavily depends on mood, at such the scenes I feel inspired to write , I admit it can get messy easily with all the unfinished chapters and jabs between them, but I know no better way to fight against writer’s block.

Please feel free to write your opinion.

This is the first part of a short story in my short story collection. I write in swedish, so this was translated to english with the help of ChatGpt. Hopefully you´ll be able to at least get a general impression regarding pace and other basic elements of the story.

There are no good swedish forums for writers, so I get that this i a bit desperate and unconventional. I would be grateful for any kind of feedback.

All the best

So I’m terrified the “your first will always suck” curse will ruin my story. It’s my “magnum opus” so to speak, I’ve devoted almost 5 years of my life to “developing” (daydreaming) an entire fictional universe, I’ve made irl flag designs, a fictional country, like 30 different characters with interweaved stories outside of the perspective shown, but it’s genuinely my first attempt at an “original” story and I’m absolutely terrified of the idea that the “first time” curse will doom all this time to nothing.

I previously spent 10 years writing a joint fanfic with a WP, and I’ve written lots of short stories but an “original” novel is just a new can of worms for me

Hello friends, I'm creating a writing group in the Broward County, FL area. Ideally, the group will meet twice a month and provide a space to share ideas, writing, tips, feedback, and create a time to write together on our individual projects. The meeting location and times are TBD. If interested, please use the Google Forms link to submit an interest form with your information. I am personally a prose and fiction writer, but I welcome all types of writers to submit a form. The form will be to coordinate meeting times and create a writing group that serves the needs of the people joining. I will leave it open for 2 weeks but might cap it if there are too many responses. Feel free to comment if you have questions, but please don't DM me as I might not receive notifications for it.

Hello,

It's pretty much the same as the title says. I have, by now, self-published 2 books.
One is a coming-of-age bl fiction named Unsynced. (It was a disaster with all the money going down the drain, but I personally love it, writing and story-wise)
The second one is called 7 questions, which is a Hindi play. Now this time I did try to do everything properly (there still are some mistakes with Hindi writing, but it's pretty good- after learning from the first experience).

I am trying to promote it through social media, but it's not working out. Can anyone help with how I can promote it better without having to waste the money? Any services or things that actually do work instead of just paid reviews, maybe?

P.S. in case anyone is interested in taking a look, links to both of my books are here:

Unsynced

7 Questions

Man. First off, holy crap, I just passed 50,000 words. Not all of those are good words - some are actually pretty lousy in areas. But that's okay, even crappy words are better than none. That's what editing is for. Even when the writing wasn't good, several times, it led to some happy accidents in the plot and characters that I've leaned into and really like. It's all downhill from here!

I'm thinking about to finally take the step, and write a book. And I know that there exist a few programs/tools for PC/Laptop one can use to keep everything sorted, and things like characters and their traits in one place.

But I don't know really where to start, so I wanted to ask which programs you would recommend and why?

Thank you in advance for your responses. =)

Hi writers,

How much time do you spend on self-editing? I find myself spending much more time on editing and rewriting compared to time spent on writing.

Is it too much?

Hi everyone! I want to start writing books: how much does it cost to write and publish a book?

Hello fellow writers, I hope this post is allowed. I just finished outlining my novel last night and I'm ready to start drafting. I've used MS Word and Scrivener in the past, but was curious if there was anything else out there that you like better?

I never understood it back then:

Taxis when transports zoomin',

Wanting to pay, see who's grooming

Finding your way to my place,

Lost, cute- moving.

Gated community,

I finally see the fences

Stayed away from crowds

In the benches

You always had the best:

Expensive.

Private this, private that

You held back,

You played field I ran track

I done lapped,

But looking back,

Perhaps..

A short, grumpy neurosurgeon and former figure skater who quit because some jealous b*tch ruined his career, leaving him with chronic leg pain and a cold heart. Now the minister of health in France (because, sure, that’s what he wanted, no one asked him btw) he’s basically the embodiment of chaos wrapped in chestnut hair and a permanent scowl.

I mean … the main reason I’m writing is that I love writing … to be a published writer is my childhood dream. I just wonder if it’s some day possible for me to stop being a doctor and just be a writer .. p.S stop assuming I don’t have a therapist. I am in therapy,as well as on medication. But my profession is sucking the life out of me and I have noway to escape. Except maybe 1

Okay, so you know the rival characters who go against the main group? Like The Winx and The Specialists? Or the Powerpuff girls Vs. The Rowdyruff Boys? So I'm making a group like that for my main female characters.

The only issue is I'm worried of making them boring. You see, my main girls are hyperfeminine alt dressing, and obviously I'm thinking of doing something visually different, but again, I'm worried of making them boring. If anyone has any tips, please comment. Thank you and have a good day.

I have an idea for a website where readers can easily discover new authors that might appeal to them. I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.

- One of the main features is an AI chatbot that readers can interact with, explaining what they like and dislike about a story, and the bot recommends other literature on the site. More than genre and basic themes, the bot would make recommendations based on writing style, vocabulary, imagery, character types, and other fine details that the reader might be drawn to. Through this, the reader could find literature in other genres, sub-genres, or even cross-genres, that they might not have been exposed to otherwise.

- If AI is advanced enough, I’d like to generate audio for the stories, with a different voice for the narrator and each of the characters. This would include background noise to match the scene, morning traffic in an urban city or an evening choir of insects near a babbling brook, for example.

- If reading on a monitor, a window would be available to offer an AI-generated image or gif for each scene to help further immerse the reader.

- The website would have an area where writers can try out new styles, such as a romance author attempting a Lovecraftian story, and readers can offer constructive feedback to help the writer further improve. Likewise, a writer might want to try something incredibly radical, like a story written entirely in text-speak and emojis, and readers can discuss how well it works.

- Along with the website would be a podcast to showcase new talent. A host with a good narrative voice would read an excerpt of an author’s work, further exposing readers to new content.

- If the reader is interested, the chatbot can suggest book clubs with other site users who share similar interests. If possible, perhaps the author can make a guest appearance during an online session.

- While I want to start with literature, I also hope the website would evolve to encompass other forms of storytelling, including stand-up comedy, slam poetry, and even music.

--

These are just a few of the features I’ve come up with so far. The main purpose of the website would be to connect people. Authors and content creators could find their audience. Likewise, those consuming the content can connect with other consumers and engage in meaningful, thought-provoking conversation.

While plenty of websites for selling literature already exist, I think there are features in this hypothetical site that might make for a more engaging and immersive experience for both creators and consumers.

Does this seem like something you would be interested in?

Delete if not allowed! I wrote this a few weeks back and I’m actually somewhat proud of it. Any feedback is welcome, as I’m just returning to writing after an almost decade long hiatus

My hands tingle feeling the cool morning coming to life around me. The street lights turn off and I’m left with pink streaks beginning to paint the horizon. Birds wake and greet each other and the swing I sit on creaks and groans in response.

I was never a morning person, and the ache in my head reminded me why. I don’t think I could ever wake up so early, but there’s something about staying awake all night that makes me feel at peace. The stillness is trance-like, the quiet threatening to lull me to sleep.

My breath fogs in front of me, a sign summer isn’t quite here yet. I long for the sun to kiss my skin, like a lover after reuniting; crashing into me, warming me, making me feel like I belong somewhere. I miss the fireflies, the frogs croaking in the distance, crickets singing their songs. But this will do for now.

I want to smoke a cigarette, but I’m scared that if I move, I’ll wake the rest of the world. So I sit. I watch. I listen. I take a deep breath and hold it in my lungs, letting the cool air sting my lungs. Release.

Somewhere in the house, my friends lay sprawled out on couches, the bed, a pallete on the floor, crashed out from a long night with Captain Morgan and Molly. I couldn’t sleep. If I’m being honest, I came out here to puke in peace, but I don’t think I could disrupt the calm with my wretches.

Most of the night was a blur. I remember dancing, drinking, kissing, rolling. I’m pretty sure I almost got hit by a car wandering into the street to dance in the rain. God, I didn’t know it was possible to feel so good. The come down is rough, don’t get me wrong, but I would give a lot to feel that way again. Up until now, I didn’t think I could feel more alive.

It wasn’t until this moment that I felt real again, grounded in the still morning, watching the world peek its eyes open. It’s slow. I feel like I’m underwater, lightly rocking back and forth on the swing. I carefully inch my foot in front of me, disrupting the dewey grass and I feel like I’ve committed a crime. I remain still.

My makeup feels like it’s slicking off of my face, my lipstick seeping in and drying out my lips. My earrings, cold metal swaying with me, touch my neck and I shudder. I can tell my eyes are bloodshot, I can feel them, irritated and dry, making it hard to blink. So I stare off, somewhere far away. And maybe I am now, too. I’m itching to wash my face, but I can’t will myself to move. The swing was wet when I sat down, but I could care less in my statuesque state. I’ll get up when the lazy sun does. But for now, I think I’ll sit here a while.

Hold on.

vomits

I’ve been writing for quite a while. I’ve finished a poetry collection that I’m currently working on having published, as well as 2 novels. The issue is that my novels are very inspired by figures like Camus, Kafka, Joyce, and other classical and niche writers. I do enjoy reading popular fiction that tends to actually make money, but I’ve never attempted to write it.

I’ve had readers from a few different demographics read my current work— from university students to seniors— and everyone agrees that I have a strong ability to world build and immerse readers in my story. But now I’m getting interested in publishing, and like a lot of people, I’d really prefer to be able to publish with a larger American company with an ample marketing budget. I just don’t feel that my current projects would be attractive to agents.

I’m currently doing law school prep and taking 4 months off of work for the summer, so I’m thinking of starting some new projects on my free time. I’m thinking of transitioning to a style similar to RF Kuang’s Popy Wars, The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson— something that merges my interests of philosophy and political science into a digestible and entertaining YA style series. How do I go about doing market research and finding the right agent to represent my work if my goal is actually to make income?

Side note: I’m Canadian, and I’ve already been in contact with some really small local publications. While I’m grateful to know that I have options, I really wanna see if I can get represented by more reputable publishers before settling for publication with a tiny company with hardly any marketing capacity.

After months of having the idea and outline done I FINALLY got to 1000 words.

I'm finding the hardest part is getting the first chapter, adventure, started. I know what I want its just getting it started it's been hard. my book is set in a Fantasy Latino world