As a mother to four boys (ages 16, 13, 7, 19m), I find it extremely difficult to find time to write, despite having the inspiration to do so. Usually I only have "me" time when the littles (7 & 19m) go to sleep between 7pm-8pm and try to write anytime between 9pm and bed time. Daytime is me ususally chasing the littlest around while doing the usual daily chorae. And I'm always writing mobile cause my laptop broke (joy!). So my question to parents who write, when do ya'll find the time to do so?

My husband middle/last name is Kim, he is half korean, half swedish. Born in sweden.

He keeps insisting on me getting Kim officially which I have refused as I don’t want to change my legal name.

However, I would be open to the idea of using it as my pen name. I’m white from southern europe, would it then be considered cultural appropriation?

His mom (swedish) changed her legal name to Kim too cause of his dad (korean) when they married.

Thoughts?

Does anyone have a list or a website of archaic/medieval addresses someone could use. Such as 'Good Sir' 'Sire' 'Milady' 'pray you'. That sort of thing, and some examples of medieval speak. Thanks.

So, there’s plot A, plot B, then plot C. Book starts at plot A. Okay, seems normal. Then all of a sudden, I kinda push plot B when plot A starts picking up a lot of traction in the story. Plot A becomes sidelined where I’m currently at in the story. Plot B has kinda occupied them, but they’re still affected by plot A’s actions. Now, the question is do I continue with this story, or do I redo it?

I honestly don’t know if I like what I’ve written so far. I mean, the lore is fantastic. It’s just, I’ve only written 15 chapters and I already introduced a character and brought up one specific character’s background that would make the reader look at him in a completely different light. I’m pretty much stumped.

Hey guys! I'm writing a YA Fantasy Novella and could do with a few people to read my work, it's my first time giving something a serious go and I'd love to get some people's thoughts, it's only about a quarter of the way done and I could do with the advice! Lmk if interested!

One of my favorite aspects of Sci-Fi is the shocking moments where a reader is exposed to grand, incomprehensible information about the universe. I am thinking the first appearance of the Turing Police in Neuromancer or the many spice agony moments in the Dune series.

I am writing a Space Western, and want to have a moment like that, where a reader is slowly fed hints to a greater problem before having a giant revelation about the universe there. However, I'm having difficult thinking about how this can be done in regards to tense and perspective. As of now it's first person present tense, but this writing style is a bit jarring and annoying to write. However, the restriction of information in third person seems less natural than first person where you follow a single person and learn as they learn.

What are the thoughts on this? How can Sci-Fi be done best in regards to perspective and tense while simultaneously doing worldbuilding AND hiding information from the reader, while portraying a main character growing and changing.

I normally paint and you can say "stick to painting", but I wanted to make a quick short story book about a restaurant called Bona Vacantia.

The idea was that I wanted to waste nothing and make it as clever as I could to tell a story within a story.

I wanted to hide details within details and make it a commentary about modern global political events masked as a story about a pretentious restaurant.

Loved the idea, it came to me mid pandemic while on a long drive.

Made the book, should have illustrated it manually myself but used software. (Might go back and illustrate it manually).

I put it on Amazon but after seeing that other post here today about Amazon I suppose that was a mistake.

My question to you guys is how can I get maximum exposure? I don't need to make any money, in fact I just want people to see it, would even take a loss for the fun.

A lighthearted, silly post. I'm literally punching the air at how in love my two main characters are. They're too effing cute. I can't get over how happy I am for them as if I didnt make them up myself lol.

Tell me the times you were over the moon by something sweet/loving/cute that your characters did!

I have been writing a lot as of lately, i am planning a LOT of content to write on too so i was planning to make the series into volumes thought im not sure if its a good idea

I'm working on a manuscript that I'm certain I'll put out for the world to read eventually. However, when I was researching for potential literary agents and publishers, I stumbled up on this discussion about building a social media presence to have a good shot at being "successful". My manuscript isn't complete and I don't want to share anything about it till it gets close to publishing. What exactly are we supposed to post on Instagram, etc. to build a following? Is it the content similar to Rupi Kaur? I'm very unsure about this and I hate it! What am i supposed to post?

Also, does only 1 social media platform other than the website work? I hate to maintain these pages. I need some guidance. Thanks.

Hey y'all,I might need some help with my characters. I always imagine them white, and like once the picture is put in my brain I can't imagine anything else. I'm from the middle east, so not white. I have trouble with having a diverse cast, and since the theme of my story isn't about race/ethnicity, I don't know if I'm in the wrong. I have thought about just leaving it out of the book and let it up to the readers imagination, but I don't know if that's a good idea. Sorry for my bad english.

Any recommendations for online writing courses which help with more prose writing skills, as opposed to plot/character/story development?

Also is there any online writing groups that focus on this kind of thing? Maybe with weekly writing prompts?

Hello all! We're Desperate Literature - an independent bookshop nestled in the heart of Madrid. We're delighted to announce the launch of the 2025 Desperate Literature Prize for Short Fiction, which will be accepting submissions through April 13th.

Our 2025 Jury is, we think, one of our best yet:

Mariana Enríquez, Henry Hoke, and Ottessa Moshfegh

First Prize:

• €2000
• A week’s residency at the Civitella Ranieri Foundation
• A manuscript assessment with The Literary Consultancy
• Meeting with literary agent Ed Wilson from The Literary Consultancy

Other prizes include: 

• €1000 (two prizes available)
• Publication in a limited edition book made by ourselves and launched at the Desperate Literature Short Fiction Prize Salon, Madrid
• Publication with one of our partner journals: Helter Skelter, The London Magazine, Prototype, Tenement, Gorse, Kill Your Darlings, Minor Literature[s].
• Participation in Desperate Literature Prize Salons in Madrid and at Burley Fisher, London.
• Will be invited to participate in the European Writers Salon in Brussels (EU writers only)
• Will be offered a 10-day stay in our in-house residency, Madrid. The residency includes a travel stipend of 100€.

Entry fee:

• €20 for the first entry
• €10 for every further entry (max. of five entries per person)

Entrants will retain copyright of their work. However, in submitting work, authors give permission to Desperate Literature to publicize and promote the work if appropriate and to use author names and story titles in publicity.

Submission guidelines, sponsored entries, and more at https://desperateliterature.com/prize/ !

Is 90,000 words to short for a fantasy novel? I looked it up and a lot of other popular fantasy books are over 100,000 words.

i’m writing a fantasy series and was wondering what number of books you prefer in a series. i was thinking five. the first book i’ll publish in may and im currently working on the second. i have ideas for the ending of the book. hit could always add/take away to make it 4-6 books or add a novella somewhere too. the first book is a little over 400 pages and im expecting the second to be within there too. the third one i was thinking 500 or maybe even 6. i’ll post the blurb for the first one at the bottom of this. lmk your thoughts!

Faceless assassin blurb:

Thousands of years ago, gods and goddesses walked among mortals—until demons began to overrun the world. In a final, desperate plea, the gods called upon humans for help, and together they defeated the demons. Or so they believed. Now, an assassin from the Second Continent is given a mission: kill the Prince of Third. But when she arrives, she uncovers long-buried truths about the gods' forgotten past. Torn between completing her mission and unraveling these dangerous secrets, she finds herself entangled with an insufferable Fae male who’s tasked to never leave her side. As she digs deeper into the mysteries of the gods, she discovers that the past isn’t as dead as it originally seemed.

I like being chill, with some rain outside and it being cold.

Probably my second biggest question that haunts me as a try to write my fantasy story is the fact that the ideas in my head seem to contradict every video/blog that I've seen. That being the way they talk about starting with a "reason" for the reader to stay. Even though it takes a couple dozen pages Frodo knows what he has to do. And Game of thrones starts with the ambush scene for a reason, even though it does have a varied set of plots that one scene convinces the reader of a greater mission. Basically (in my opinion) it's giving the reader a peek at the ending so they can decide whether to go for the ride.

My issue is that's not how life works and I would like to have a plot that grows as the book progresses, with the main catalyst being some halfway into the book (the kings death) to truly have the characters grow and take time to do some hard worldbuilding. And have villains form from this event that people can truly come to hate or fear.

People don't want to waste time, their scared of it scared and of trying to move forward without knowing why. So bit of a tuff question but how do you maintain your readers interest without a Point/Reason/Start?

I’ve read so many books with so many good hooks, but I can’t seem to replicate them in my own writing. From what I’ve gathered, a good hook tends to have two clauses, where the first one sets and expectation and the second one subverts it, but even though I technically understand that I can’t seem to come up with anything I like when I write on my own. Ideas?

Anyone else have this problem? I've written a star wars fic that has all these greate scenes that will never see the light for day, and I can't use them in a different context cuz they depend on the world building.

I'm currently working on an epic trilogy that I will probably self-publish, but I'm also interested in writing a women's fiction novel idea that I've been thinking about for the past couple of years that I'd like to try to traditionally publish (I've heard that women's fiction is trending in trad publishing). I'm also considering dabbling in erotica under a pseudonym to see if there's any money there. I've never published a novel before, so I'm pretty new to all of this.

I'm wondering, does anyone have experience with writing simultaneous manuscripts that have extremely disparate subject matter, styles, and POV? Do you find that that negatively impacts your workflow? Part of me feels like it would be good for me to have a reason to keep writing something when my creative juices wane on one MS. The other part of me feels like I might get side-tracked and spread thin and never complete my current WIP if I start something new that's so different. I'm also a little nervous about the fact that whichever book is published first will be my debut novel, and they would be quite different.

Curious to hear anyone's thoughts or insights.

Anyone else get really nervous before releasing a book? This is my fifth and yet I've got the jitters like I'm getting ready for my first date still. 182k words. 300+ pages. 2 years of work. WHAT IF IT'S AWFUL AND EVERYONE HATES IT!

It's not going to stop me, I'm just wondering if I'm alone lol

I struggled to come up with a title in a short sentence but to the point - I’ve been told that it’s good for characters dj make mistakes, so the reader can relate more, and also to possibly show your character can grow and overcome the mistakes they’ve made.

In this case, can a main characters defining “mistake” be something that was out of their control? Something like being betrayed or being framed. In other words a mistake out of their hands.

Maybe this would lead to them not trusting anyone, which could in turn be their mistake, and create opportunity for character growth.

Does anyone know more about this?

As in the stuff where theres a stalemate kind of situation coming up many times and a clear winner only shows up as the outcome a few times. Im having a hard time coming up with a buildup for that and the physical fighting is done only when necessarily and very strategically. All parties would be going toe to toe with the others. (Its a supernatural induced story.)

One example im studying across all forms of media is hunter x hunter where stuff doesnt resolve but spirals into more developements and the fighting is done only whe. Things are more or less decisive. How should i study this or write it?

In the last years, stories where the main characters are either villainous or morally-gray have become extremely popular. For this reason, I believe, people have become insensitive towards villainy as long as it is performed by the main character. This may be not necessarily bad from my current standing, but does render some situations more difficult.

So, here’s my question: How do you stop the readers from sympathizing with the main character’s evildoing? Honestly, I already have some ideas about how to do this (such as making the readers connect with another character before making the MC hurt them) but I’d like to know what y’all think.

Pd/ If you found any awkward wording in this text, do consider I just began writing and English is not my first language before correcting my mistake. Thanks.

The best way I can describe it is like building a house. I feel confident gathering all the pieces that I need, but when it comes to actually putting it together into a structure that will work, I can't do it. This is something I've struggled with my whole life.

I can write all kinds of ideas and make tons of notes, but they never form a story. I've only ever written 2 stories. Everything else is a clutter of notes and ideas. They never go further. It's like my brain gives up on that part.

Outlines don't help me because they feel extremely restrictive. Yet when I write freely, I hit a roadblock on the first page. Then I feel like my notes are a bunch of nonsense and those don't help either.

Any tips for this scatterbrained writer?

When I look at the biggest examples of hated villains in literature their often paired with a variety of grievous crimes (as well as obviously good writing). But as someone who wants to write I find myself unwilling to go past a certain line. Certain actions that I just don't want to put into words and be something I produced. Not to say that I won't ever write about people doing evil actions but if it's just limited by how much guts I have then it feels like I'll always be a step below.

So here's my question: Is there any ways, and if so what, that you can make readers elevate their hate for a character whether through plot or prose without relying on their actions. Something other than the obvious such as better writing (whatever that means) and making your villain feel like a real person. Something that immerses the reader into hating the character even if he does, say, something good.

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What is your favorite POV to write and why? How about when your read?

I read a comment somewhere along the lines of that "the author kept us in the MC's POV and there was not the needless confusion of multiple POVs". 🤨

I was like, wow, I really see things differently. I love 3rd person. It allows me to see (or, in the case of being the writer, convey) so much more. I think 1st person has the advantage of being able to show the MC's thoughts and feelings, but you can do that with more subtlety in 3rd person. And I think 3rd person is more cinematic. I have access to each of the characters' perspectives and I get to choose how to reveal the story to the reader without being needlessly - to use that word - limited.

Perhaps it's the sort of thing where 1st person has the higher floor and may be a bit harder to screw up and 3rd person can be great if done well but can also be a massive dumpster fire?

What are your thoughts?

offers sacrifice to the gods so this post makes it onto the subreddit

I've seen some advice on stealth in prose in general but I'm looking for some tips to create the stealthy tendencies for an experienced fighter accustomed to the jungle.

The story itself is of a war between a developed and militarily strong nation looking for resources and a less developed but still capable nation exclusively possessing said resources, defending on home turf.

One of the characters are a mix between spec ops and guerrilla if that makes sense; I get the typical "uses effective camo, knows terrain, and has fear factor" but my question is what qualities other than the typical "adept climber" and "silent step" would a believable operative/fighter like this have? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Over the past 15-20 years I've worked on 80ish novels (never published). But due to life circumstances for the past 3 years I haven't created a single thing. Now that my muse has finally returned and given me the inspiration to continue, I find myself in a funny little situation...

I am nervous to start up again.

It feels like stage fright but my entire life up until recently has been performing. So it both amusing yet confusing.

I'm not sure why I am feeling this all of a sudden and I wonder if any one else goes through something similar.