NickyZwrites

@nickyzwrites

94 Following

80 Followers

NickyZwrites pfp

I've been in the trad submission trenches for about two years and right now my take on becoming a published writer is: 1. accolades - doubtful 2. money - HAHAHAHA YOU'RE KIDDING RIGHT 3. fame - highly doubtful My wishlist has been reduced to and even this seems insurmountable sometimes: 1. Get a publication deal. Any publication deal. 2. Get even a handful of true fans.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Why is this in the Writers channel?

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

It occurred to me today that some people don't think there's a difference between the act of plotting vs the act of writing. To me they are worlds apart. Left brain vs right brain. Strategy vs execution. Best done in separate sessions. Then again, I've never been a pantser and can't even fathom how one could just write as you go. :D

1 reply

0 recast

2 reactions

NickyZwrites pfp

I mostly aim for traditional publication (journals and competitions), which usually requires your pieces to be unpublished, including online. So I actually can't post my writing online unless I'm certain it's ready to die. :D But now I'm starting to think of self-publishing and wondering how best to build a brand. Do you like Substack?

1 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

On a spreadsheet, as a dot point summary, not as prose. I find plotting and execution to be two entirely different exercises, using different parts of the brain, and don't like to mix them up.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

The first half of R F Kuang's The Poppy War gave me massive TNOTW vibes but then the second half kinda veered off somewhere... entirely different. Not sure I'd recommend it. Rothfuss is in a league of his own.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

That's great! Do you think you can make anything out of these old ideas? I have various physical notebooks and electronic text documents scattered around my creative spaces. Occasionally I stumble across them and go "that's an interesting idea!" Then I go away and don't start anything because I am very, very lazy.

1 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

I know I need to check out Substack and possibly start putting some work on there, but I'm so paralysed by new platforms. Any tips for a Substack newbie?

0 reply

0 recast

2 reactions

NickyZwrites pfp

That's an interesting approach, I might try it, thanks! I usually don't start writing until I have a full scene-by-scene outline which is pretty much the opposite of the above, but it might get the juices flowing enough to figure out what I want to do.

1 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Great. Now I'm freaking depressed.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Have three competing novel ideas and I'm paralysed about which to start next. 1. Literary dystopian 2. YA fantasy - contemporary 3. YA fantasy - ancient world All else being equal, which one would you prefer to read?

2 replies

0 recast

3 reactions

NickyZwrites pfp

What do you do when you're just not "feeling it" for the writing practice? I'm in between novels - in submission for the first and not ready to start my next one yet. Tried writing short stories, which are not going well to say the least. Feel adrift, send halp please.

1 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

I think epic fantasy is amazing but I'm so daunted by the worldbuilding. How do you go about your worldbuilding?

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

That sounds really cool! Could come in handy for my YA fantasy that I'm trying (and failing) to write.

1 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Agree 100%. It's much easier to edit *something* than *nothing*. I have a friend who's been writing and rewriting his first page for 3 years. After a point you gotta figure they're not actually interested in writing a book. Not really.

0 reply

0 recast

2 reactions

NickyZwrites pfp

Annnd I think my first like and follow from this post is from a bot. *headdesk*

0 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Interesting comparison between the two. I enjoyed The Secret History (intentional Crime & Punishment vibes). I enjoyed A Little Life while I was reading it, and the language was beautiful, but the plot was pure torture porn. I nearly walked out of the theatre adaptation because it felt like absurdist caricature.

0 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

It's pretty disheartening to see all my favourite channels being spammed by AI bots, AND those posts getting way more replies and likes than posts by real users.

1 reply

0 recast

1 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

For me it's Michael Cunningham's The Hours. A modern classic.

0 reply

0 recast

0 reaction

NickyZwrites pfp

Worth clarifying that this is the International Booker, not the Booker itself.

0 reply

0 recast

1 reaction