Promote Your Novel with Advice!

HopefulAttempt 2021-01-11 02:04:28 UTC #1

Hey there!
Drop a piece of advice that has helped you or something you have taught yourself to help out your fellow writers, and follow it with your link! The advice can be as simple or complex as you want, but it has to be something that has helped you, and feel free to leave more than one bit of advice.

For me, I have pretty bad anxiety at times, and I've learned that when receiving criticism to listen to what it is, and then revisit it after a few moments or the next day so I have a moment to rationalize myself from the first bit.
Another is when you get stuck, write about something else for a bit even if it's just a narration of what is or isn't happening around you.

HippieGhost 2021-01-11 02:07:41 UTC #2

The best advice I got was to make sure that no matter what I'm always staying true to my characters. It's important to review where a character has been and where they are, especially in rewrites, because you run the risk of parodying yourself. Likewise, it's always good to keep in mind that as you change as a person, your characters could too, and often they still need to learn from the mistakes you did, or else you'll lose their character entirely.

Pony_wearing_a_hat 2021-01-11 02:08:56 UTC #3

I thought for a little bit that my story was too dark and had too much swearing... but the advice/conclusion I gave myself was this: Rob Zombie movies exist and have a following and those are waaaaayyyy more effed up and vulgar than anything I could ever write. basically what I'm getting at is that there's an audience for every kind of story, and nothing is unlikable.

kmlangleyauthor 2021-01-11 03:56:09 UTC #4

If you have an idea, no matter how big or small, roll with it! Write it down! Get it all out! You can always edit it later. And even if an idea doesn’t seem useful at the moment, writing it down will help you remember it for years down the road

HippieGhost 2021-01-11 03:58:33 UTC #5

Wanted to add to this (already promoted above) but another big one for me is this: Write now, edit later. It's better to go through and keep writing until you hit the end of a chapter, then go BACK and edit, than it is for you to try to get it perfect in one shot. Perfectionism is the number one killer of good novels.

grotesqueice 2021-01-11 04:05:12 UTC #6

The best advice I read was that, you'll never get better in writing not unless you do it. I was thinking of publishing my work online but was pushed back for two to three years because I kept thinking it's no good.
I forced myself to publish it and thanks to numerous people that criticized my work, I felt that there's room for improvement.

My work has been edited for how many times already and I'm not ashamed to share that. Through error, I learned a lot. I would like to think that I improved as well. Another advice I got was that my story is too much 'telling', though I haven't really removed that habit completely, I was more aware of it now and try my hardest to avoid it.

cherrystark 2021-01-11 04:24:15 UTC #7

My advice for creating "real life" or multi-faceted characters is to people watch. There is no better way to learn how to write people than to watch them.

Pantsers or Plotter, your work should inspire you. There is an adage about if you are doing what you love, it's not work. To a degree, the same holds true for writing. If your story isn't giving you tons of ideas to explore or get you excited to sit down and work on it, it might not be the right idea. You will have bad days, but something in your story should inspire you to keep trying.

peach 2021-01-11 04:58:56 UTC #8

I relate a lot to you because I also have really bad anxiety. It's no fun

One thing I've learned is that you have to write the story YOU want to write. Sure, it's good to listen to tips and ideas from others, but at the end of the day, you have to stay true to your story. I've let people influence me to not include themes I wanted to talk about, like mental illness or LGBT issues, or to treat characters differently than how I saw fit. I'm now trying to follow my own heart better And be proud of it!

Sharing both tapas and Webtoon link! (I really wanna meet more Webtoon people as well )

DasIstWunderblyat 2021-01-11 05:22:27 UTC #9

Not exactly an advice because I have very little technical skill and wisdom, but I will try.

You decide everything in your story, believe in it. You are the one who decide it to be hard to write or not, to be a good read or not. If possible, please be a little selfish and think about yourself.

Just because a genre or storytelling element is considered superior by the public, does not meant you have to sacrifice your preferences, passion, and skill to pursue it. Just because grimdark shit sounds mature, realistic, and philosophical; does not mean you have to leave your preference of writing Weenie Hut Jr. tier shit for cool kids point.

Do not blindly follow what others say like "Prologue bad," "I will drop when I see a nightmare opening," "Multiple POV is cringe," "This trope is overused garbage," "We don't need another series about a lost royalty," "Pantsing is a superior method," and such. Following such things which are often just preferences or even baseless cynicism will lead to nothing except corruption on your creative thoughts and insecurity. You will be haunted by the thought of satisfying and appeasing people, not how to improve your series. Instead, analyze why people shit on those storytelling elements, and learn from it to make it different or to make other elements complement it.

Do not be discouraged by people who choose to drop your series because of the same "trivial" reasons such as mentioned above. They are entitled to their preference and I hope you are not some dictator trying to torture them or force your series towards them. Even if you feel it is a prejudice, biased or unfair, you still cannot force them except you want to be the author version of incel.

Some people disliking your series is not a parameter of your series' quality; take any critically acclaimed series and you will find at least one person will gladly rip it apart and spit on it for any reason. Nothing is perfect and you will find series with obvious shortcomings balance it out with their strength and still make it. It is also does not mean the person will disregard other strengths in your series in entirety (and if they do, do not bother listening). You can learn from their opinions for the thing you can help (e.g. technical skills), and learn to let go for things you cannot help (e.g. disliking certain tropes).

Maps 2021-01-11 05:52:55 UTC #10

You and me both!!! But sometimes we need those dark stories, eh?!

NellieVP318 2021-01-11 05:55:32 UTC #11

One advice at least for what I learn from my writing partner was to believe in your work. In my view, there is a reason why you want to write this story. If you don't believe in it, no one else will too.

Also, I know writing can be work but have fun too!

Maps 2021-01-11 05:57:01 UTC #12

My advice (when it actually comes to tapas) is not to drop your entire chapters right away. Pace that thing weekly. Have a good buffer. Don’t stress yourself out.

I realized I needed a hiatus so I took one. Writing my story went from being therapeutic to being stressful. I was able to know when I needed to give myself a break from it.

Despite that, I’ve been feeling motivated again. I’ll be creating a buffer before jumping in this time.

mcarrowolga 2021-01-11 05:59:09 UTC #13

Treat your world as another character, with its own development, flaws and talents, then it will feel alive.

Elysee 2021-01-11 08:06:40 UTC #14

First of all thanks to the people above, you guys got me some of my self-esteem back.
Second of all Tips: Only got this. Write that stuff down, paper, smartphone, PC idk in some memo stuff.
Just write it down!
You will not memorize it. You will forget it!
I lost so many good twists for my story because I thought I will know it later. No, honey your idea will be gone.
Write it down even if it's just a word you thought sounds cool. You will use it later, believe me.
Make it your rountine to write it down and you will thank yourself later that you did.

Also always see writing as fun, if not it will lose it's magic for you

Nezothecat 2021-01-11 09:14:47 UTC #15

All beings are beautiful, it is just that some beings are more beautiful than the others.

nullabutton 2021-01-11 09:42:56 UTC #16

When I was discussing my isekai novel idea with a friend, my good mate told me that he was sick and tired of seeing Germanic 'Von Unsinnberg' set in what is clearly an English feudal system. I then realized it was so true in the vast majority of novels and comics set in medieval period
This got me thinking, and I thus try to have things as cohesive as possible: such as naming conventions, cuisine, titles, etc, they all need to be in line with not only the appropriate cultural setting but also the period that the story is based on. Sure, I can be as liberal as I want for my story is a 'fantasy' but sh*ts gotta make some sense at least.

https://tapas.io/series/The-Maiden-of-the-Roseland-Against-All-Odds

surenlicious 2021-01-11 16:28:59 UTC #17

Don't be afraid to start over or tinker on your work as you write. Nothing has to be perfect right from the go, you can always go back and give your older chapters a little love.

sarahmassey998 2021-01-12 01:18:11 UTC #19

Well here's my two cents...
Try to write everyday even if you think its garbage later. Sometimes there's a working idea in there that you can cannibalize later and writing is like any other skill, you only get better by practicing. Also have a beta reader if you can, if you're like me what make sense in your head doesn't always make sense to other people on paper.

RiyeRose 2021-01-13 00:30:44 UTC #20

My bit of advice would that there's always a story to tell so even if you think your story has been told before, it's never been told by you. And that should motivate you to write it even more, so that people can see an entirely new world made by your hands. ️