I've watched a few YT vids on Christian Fiction, and it's very much this. And they all are dissing other Christian Fiction authors for not being clean enough.
Like to add Christian fiction isn’t the only closed door romance (clean implies sex is dirty in a genre written by and for women in most part-and it’s origins-so the stigma being remoced matters) :)
Some would argue "Christian fiction" doesn't really exist. There are fictions written from a Christian worldview, yes, but...that's not the same thing; if it were, most works of fiction in the West would be considered "Christian fiction." The reader base heavily disagrees on what the genre of Christian-based fiction should be. That's probably one of the reasons why people say there's no "good" recent "Christian fiction." That, and most "popular" fiction in this genre tends to be focused on educating people about the Bible and not making waves, and, well, you can't have a good story without genuine conflict. Need some examples? Most fans of the genre agree that fiction that criticizes the church or questions the Bible is not Christian fiction, disqualifying almost all historical and modern fiction covering this topic. Most also agree that fiction that hurts people and doesn't have an uplifting message cannot be considered part of the genre, disqualifying horror, suspense, crime noir, and similar. Most agree that it can't uplift any sort of magic, mysticism, or secularism, disqualifying fantasy, sci-fi, and even comedy. ...at some point you have to ask yourself what's left? From what I've seen, only works that serve as thinly veiled sermons truly qualify. The problem with a sermon, though, is it's not intended to be entertaining.
@@KB-zq9ny Anything published by Bethany House I think. From what little I've seen, it's all Hallmark-y fluffy feel-good historical romances where people talk about Jesus sometimes
That's how I like reading best too (though I prefer following with a hard copy vs an ebook because it strains my eyes less). It makes me feel safe, like I'm a kid in the 90s doing hooked on phonics or listening library. The only thing missing is the narrator telling me to turn the pages when I hear chimes ring.
That's just everyone writing in well traveled genres. Either you're innovating, you're just writing good widely appreciated stuff, or you're writing bored, tires stuff and that's the behind the times group.
"So what then don't read it." "I don't have time to edit, just be grateful I let you read it." Those are not my words but from writers when told how difficult it was to read their story. I could come up with many more: "I don't have time to format it." So I didn't.
There's stories that are hard to read because of the way they're designed, and then there's stories that are hard to read because the writers are lazy. The first group put a lot of hard work to make their editing fit their concept. Lazy writers make for stories that COULD be amazing, but suck.
Sounds like they just can't handle criticism 😬 ... Which is understandable, but if they're gonna be putting their stories out for others to read, that's something they just need to get used to
@@wilthomas Do you read work that you can't understand due to misspelled words, broken thoughts, jumbled sentences. No way of knowing if it's thoughts or speech? It wasn't even given the thought of structure but placed out there and they get upset because when you give helpful criticism they claim "You didn't have to read it." Then why put it out there to be read? I tried to be helpful even as they underline the following "Please be gentle, it's my first story." And I won't give praise for praise sake anymore. Oh and I'm not the only one to try and be helpful but they don't want that it seems. One even said they didn't have the time to edit as they wanted to just publish it. Hence a waste of time to me now.
I think you have to believe this as writer to get done with the work sometimes. I’ve always been confident in mine,In part because I know my track record and because I know what I can do to find engagement plus my own grind mindset. It’s just not in me to not be doing well at something I do and it’s okay to know where you are in the pack among your peers because that’s motivation to get better or maintain
@@Nothereforit174 I haven't thought of it that way before. Something to add onto the topic is that every writer has a unique voice to tell a story, so I guess in a way, everyone is the exception.
Not so much with authors specifically, but in general, I hate that some people support YA being sexualized (thanks, SJM) and they do it by saying something like "But teens have sex" or "This is just what teenagers do." I don't care. That's no excuse for something like SJM's work to be marketed to *young high schoolers*.
Technically its her publishers fault. She started in YA and basically invented and popularized NA (new adult 18-25). Her publisher marketed it as YA. Also publishers naming YA 'young adult' in the firsr place is a problem, as in every other usage, young adults are 18-25.. But 100% agree on the page sex doesnt belong in YA
Writing involves a lot of patience and dedication in a sort of imperfect and "make do" way that can't really be learned outside of doing it or other stuff like it huh?
In regards to audiobooks. My mum could never read a book. Like it just never held her attention. But after she came to RARE2023 with me she really wanted to get into reading, after seeing how hyped i was to meet some of my favourites. I gave her access to my audible account, and she has listened to the entirety of my favourite M/M series and we're both eagerly awaiting the next novel set in that universe. She's tripley excited because this one will star her favourite character from the series as the lead. And it makes me so freakin' happy she can get that level of joy, and experience that happiness i get from books. I have ADHD/Autism/Dyslexia and while i can read a physical book for the most part there are days i really can't focus and audiobooks are the only way i can experience the story. Audiobooks are valid, you still experience the story, the only difference is someone reads it to you.
@@HeatherHalefly the Soulbound series by Hailey Turner. I got to meet her last year too she was lovely. Oh there's also the Whyborne and Griffin Series by Jordan L Hawk too which was my first M/M series ever. Came across it in 2019 and i was so happy to finally have books in my favourite genre's featuring gay men in the leads, even if they were spicy.
I absolutely lost it at "I'm not a regular writer, I'm a dark writer." I adore your humour, Jenna, and that you're not afraid to poke fun at yourself. 😅
It made me immediately think of one of my favorite book series Guardians of Ga'hoole. It's a classic Heros Journey about talking owls and it has a body count higher than The Saviors Champion 😂.
I loved listening to books on tape as a kid because they had several readers voicing all the different characters. Now, it's usually just one reader who barely changes their voice and I quickly get bored.
One I had directed right at my face was how I'm not a real writer, because I haven't published anything Nevermind the hours I logged writing down nearly every thought in my head so I can remember it later
@@OlettaLianoWell it does sound like you should perhaps write your own book at some point for the sake of it but also being a ghost writer is like... More of being an author than actually being one? It's technical, professional writing... Though not as romantic as writing for one self I suppose.
The audiobooks one always gets me. Like, I'm still consuming the book and getting the story??? First off, I just ENJOY them. I like being read to, it's soothing. SECOND, I've always been a reader, BUT I have ADHD and autism. No matter how much I wanted to, finding a point where my brain would cooperate and LET me sit still and read was frustrating. Sometimes no matter how bad I want to find out what's next, my brain would just read the same line 15 times and process nothing. On top of that, working full time gives me limited amount of time for hobbies. Audiobooks allow me to still read but ALSO have time draw/crochet/do another hobby.
For me it's a few personal things, and one observation and I don't care if other people like either but for me this is why I don't like them and I suspect others feel this and apply it antagonistically. One, it's less personal than normal reading because you have the pacing and voices defined for you. It's less your imagination to have the story altered just that little bit by the VAs who are professional talkers and definitely know how to alter a story with just their speaking manner. Probably for the better, of course, but still less for the imagination to do and the very defined and expressive voices kind of intrude on my chill reading session. I watch videos all the time there's a place for audio/visual content but books aren't usually that and thus it bothers some people. And the other reason is inherently that people who want to be proud of what they do will exclude people. And if that exclusión comes from the fact that one can't sit still then they'll say that that's a fault and argue on it. Because, it is, to some degree. But it's entertainment right? Faults and preferences and styles are irrelevant but they are there and people who want to cut people out of their in group will find a way to do so. Just positing this as true but not relevant, anyways.
Here's another stupid thing I've had another writer say to me as a way of criticizing/negging my wip for not pandering to their personal tastes: "I just know the best way to tell a story". Came from a (drum roll)... a near middle-aged white man convinced he was a literary genius and styling himself as a "teacher" to all other newbie writers despite his own literary education and reading experience consisted mostly of rereading Berserk over and over and little scope beyond that genre and medium (manga/anime). Oh, and all media pre-1990s and since was/is "not very well written" so not worth learning from or taking inspiration.
Not sure why you feel adding "near middle-aged white man" as a descriptor. Surely, the main point is that he wasn't well-read. This writer's sex and race had little to do with it.
I have no accessibility issues with physical books, but i still prefer ebooks since i can be listening while driving, working out, etc. Otherwise id never get any reading done.
I knew someone who wrote screenplays with so much swearing/violence/abuse it didnt actually make sense. It didnt have any plot either. It had swearing and F's between every other word in the diagloue for no reason. I critiqued it and said that the story could be tweaked better to have some twists and turns and ya know, PLOT. But that the swearing felt out of place and didnt feel realistic. It was off putting and awkward. He said "Thanks for the feedback" to me and then said "Her feedback was Sh**, she just can't see my vision. It's ahead of its time" to my friend. He was seriously wearing some thick ass tarantino tinted glasses and never took on any feedback - he works in recruitment now lol 😅
Okay. Though something I (sometimes) notice in (some) kid’s movies is them using absurd euphemisms to avoid profanity when they could just avoid it by not having the characters attempt to swear at all.
"Writers are like all human beings on this earth, which means they have the capability of being really fucking stupid" Oh shit, I didn't realize I was getting a shout-out in this video.
I think the closest I got to the "Dark Writer" thing was one day at my writer's club I was doing a tragic backstory for my protagonist and didn't want it to be SA, and when we were sharing what we worked on that session I said "So, apparently I woke up today and chose vivisection" and just got nods all around like "yeah, that's valid"
YAAAAAAYYYY!!! A JENNA VIDEO!!!! (I have TSC, TSS, and Shut up and write the book! I read TSC, been putting off TSS, and read apart of and write the book)
I've always preferred audiobooks because I'm usually working, exercising, or on the move. It's super easy for me to pop in my headphones and knock out another chapter of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo while I'm cleaning the dishes.
E-books are also a boon for those who have limited living quarters or whose work or family situation means frequent moves. Less clutter and fewer HEAVY moving boxes.
My book isn't like other books... It's about my unique fictional world with characters I've worked on for years and is very personal to me and my experiences as a human☺
When author say shit like "Don't read this if you can't handle dark themes" or something like that. Like what is that even supposed to mean? It doesn't even tell you anything about the book. Tell me what "dark" things are in your book. Usually those author thing that a "warning" like that is a substitute for a trigger warning and it's not! Tell me what actually happens so I can tell if it's gonna trigger me or not!
The subpoint about covers is so real. I'm part of a few author groups on FB and most of the time when someone makes a post saying "Here's my cover, I did it myself!" it's like...we can tell luv cause it's poorly photoshopped with stock images and MS Paint fonts. It's even worse when someone says to hire a cover designer and they get defensive.
Only heard it from one writer who wants me to beta-read their work... "I don't need Spellcheck. I don't write often enough for it to matter." ... Yeah, I will forever be confused by them telling me that.
I'm not a clean author, but im sure that at least some of them make it well known that they're clean just so some readers won't be put off by what they read, and end up with a feeling like "What that's it?"
A personal favorite I see is "I couldn't make any progress today X character didn't want to work with me/ tell me their story." Imagining the story is fun but this feel like suck a cop out
Why not just say that the plot was complicated and you couldn't get any satisfactory writing done, happens all the time for me in programming and writing. Sometimes it's just tough out there
Apparently you’ve never had characters vying for attention in your imagination or being uncooperative. 😂 It’s part of the writing process for many writers especially those who are off-the-cuff or pansters (writing by the seat of your pants) rather than outliners and planners. Planners might not have any notion of characters or plot, but come up with an idea and do what they get their nickname for; plan. They plan everything, outline, and then imagine and write to the plan. Pansters write the characters and stories or parts of stories as it comes to them. Sometimes this comes from dreams. Some pansters feel more like they’re documenting the story as they learn it from or with the characters. Some days things go well, other days multiple characters bombard the writer and they’re overwhelmed trying to type/write 10,000 words before the words are forgotten, and many days it’s pretty quiet. And pansters also sometimes write a story out of order, whereas planners often write everything in order. Then there are those who are a combination of the two; some call them plantsers. They write ‘by the seat of their pants” but also plan some things out. It’s definitely not a “cop out” it’s just part of a different writing method and the writing experience. It’s also a lot more than “the plot was complicated” because most good plots are always quite complicated. Having an unsatisfactory writing day could be the same day characters aren’t cooperating, but it could also be many other circumstances such as a plot planning day going awry. I understand some might not relate because they don’t work that way themselves, but many writers who use this or a similar phrase genuinely mean what they say, even if it does sound more poetic.
@@LisaMarieFord As a planner, I have to say I write everything out of order, just in less detail (unless I’m really invested in the scene) and then try to piece everything together in what I like to call a “chapter plan”. Then I spend the next few days marinating details, researching, trying to make other things work, try to write in order once I finally have some semblance of structure… and then I procrastinate because I can’t meet my own standards for what I want to achieve with the plot lmao. Rinse and repeat until I actually make some progress for once 😂
@@lara_spithfire As a panster who maybe ventures just a finger into planster territory by creating character family trees and reference guides, maps, timelines, and whatnot all AFTER those parts are written true planner territory is unknown to me. 😂 That’s good to know that even planners can write out of order. I’ve asked a few planner friends and they all go in order; which astounds me. 😳 “But, but what do you do when this character goes over there and demands this part be written at 3am?” 😆 I’m curious and fascinated to learn about others’ writing methods. Ah, yes, the struggles with procrastination and other hindrances that we all encounter. And we haven’t even gotten to the editing part yet.
@@LisaMarieFord Yeeees TwT especially when you’re the kind of writer who only writes by editing, except what do you do if you are still trying to write the first draft? There’s nothing to fix so it’s harder to conjure up words even if I know in theory what is supposed to happen and what impact it’s supposed to have on the characters 😭😭😭
Just last month I asked a horror writing Facebook group if I should worry if I had gone too far in the finale of my paranormal thriller... Most people responded with "Shut up. Are you kidding? Why are you worried about that?" Yeah, I was admittedly too cautious.
I actually think it’s OK to ask yourself if you’ve gone too far. Not for fear of offending the prudes, but occasionally if you go too far in some fashion, super dark and twisted, perverted, or something really vile that would offend a lot of people, it’s not that you’re risking offense. But you’ve sucked the joy out of reading your book. Which means they may have been ready to recommend it to others and instead they will not recommend it, or actively tell people to avoid it. I read a book that I truly enjoyed and near the climax it went super dark, and there was a scene that was so distasteful and graphic it’s sort of haunted my brain a little bit. It wasn’t that it offended my sensibilities like a church lady, it was that it left a dark spot that took away my enjoyment of the book. And yes, without that horrifically graphic and twisted moment, I probably would’ve recommended the book to a lot of family and friends. In fact I might have considered it in my top five favorite. Instead I recommended it to nobody. I didn’t badmouth it, but I feel that is a align that authors should be careful to at least consider.
That is my concern. I think I have a a series (that is mostly written) that would greatly appeal to a certain reader… who might be turned off by two scenes near the conclusion of one of the five novels, two scenes that are much more extreme than the rest of the series. The scenes fit this story, but might turn away the potential readers for all the rest of the books as well. But, since raising this concern on that forum and with my critique partner, I have had a young woman edit and review the whole book, and she said the scenes did not raise red flags for her so I'm leaving them as is.
@@PaulRWorthington Beware the opinion of the woman you used to test your book… There are a lot of women out there who regularly absorb true crime shows with some of the most horrific images and details. So they are desensitized to something like a chapter going to far. Make sure she’s not one of those. Not a good test subject.
It's a good question to ask, and one which I did ask both beta readers and family members. I had several questions, one being "is this too graphic, dark, etc" and the feedback was that I should tone it back. Even my dad, who loves my writing, said the more graphic parts were hard to read. I know I'm pretty desensitized in some respects (like, I could read The Exorcist and go to bed afterwards without issue) but I don't want to traumatize anyone. My book is meant to be a dark fantasy with elements of horror and thriller, but still - there are certain lines you can cross, even for those who enjoy edgier content.
At the moment im making a massive novel and I got this idea 2 years and it is so god dam long, like I’d you put them in books it will be like 10 to 12 books and in movies it will be like 12 to 15 movies, I am 14 so it will probably not be the best but Im a child so im just trying stuff
LOL #! is true about newbie poets, too! I help judge submissions for a local literary journal and most of our submissions are from "aspiring poets" who think the key to great poetry is to make it angsty and miserable, because beauty and wonder are just not "poetic" enough! Don't get me wrong - good poems can be sad, too, but that's not what makes them great poems. Fortunately, I think most people learn, eventually, if they keep at it.
Thank God for audio books. I lived in Los Angeles for twenty years and one cannot deal with that traffic without books on tape. That being said, I personally feel more engrossed in the story when I sit down and read it. That's just my take.
"I'd love to write a book! Seriously, I've got so many ideas I've even got a few projects on the go." "Oh cool, so what genre? What books do you like to read?" "Books? Oh, I don't read books." *Crickets*😂
Speaking of clean books, what do you think of books with a clean version? I’ve been thinking of making a clean version excluding one planned short story entirely from the book and any potential other spicyness in the 18+ version
I totally get the audiobook thing. My muscles in my eyes don’t work correctly so I read slower. Get surgery for this, but that is surgery and I don’t really want it right now, so audiobooks is how I have been reading all my boats throughout my life. I even had audiobooks in college and my graduate program.
Not the Author but the indestry it's self - GRR Martin did an interview where he explained the naming prosses of characters and how he was tought that you should never name more than 1 characters starting with the same letters because it confuses readers. He also thought that was dumb.😂😂
When you have as many characters as Martin does, some of them will have to have a name that starts with the same letter. I do feel some names can be too similar, though. When I first started reading Game of Thrones, I kept getting Vaerys and Viserys mixed up.
I hate authors who project this idea that their book didn't take a great deal of careful planning especially in terms of plot, world building and structure. JK Rowling for example, said in an interview that “Harry Potter strolled into my head fully formed.” I think claiming things like this is what gives young readers the impression that in order to be a writer, you have to be "meant to be" a writer. It makes it seem as if the story is something that happens outside of yourself. As if it was bestowed like a gift from the literary Gods, instead of being a product of the writers own imagination. That's why writers wonder of they are "meant to be" a writer. Without realizing it, they associate it with destiny and divinity and low-key, there is something so grandiose about that. It diminishes personal agency. It diminishes the significant effort many writers put in, to do research or educate themselves about a subject before writing about it or practicing and getting better and better at their craft. Also, many writers who don't self publish, rely on feedback or advice from agents, revisions from editors to whip their work into shape or streamline the crux of their story. That level of social support means it usually not the effort of just one person. So there is just no way, it came into her head "fully formed". I love the Harry Potter series but that quote is just the pinnacle of stupid.
Not to defend JKR, but while she may say the main character popped into her head, she's also shared the notebooks and detailed charts she uses to plot her books, and talked about the years of work that went into the series. And that she failed for years before getting published. All told, she's hardly making a case for simply 'meant to be.' Isn't she the opposite?
My book came about because I got the idea from listening to a song (Haunted by Evanescence if you want to know.) Writing it down was hard, but I had it in my head fairly early on. (I was 15, now 35, it's taken 20 years and I'm still not finished!)
Even if that was remotely possible, I'd rather develop a story through intellect and creativity, not have it plonked into my brain with zero skill involved.
"#4 is spot on!" - This middle aged male writer. I'm 55 with 7 novels. A year from now it will be twelve with a new trilogy with Aethon Books. I worked my stale, wrinkled 🏀 ⚾s off to learn the business side. I get asked once or twice a month by other old crusty dudes in my demo about becoming an author. I ask them, "Red pill or blue pill?" because they truly think it will be "passive income." (
I'm not like other authors. I'm a dark author! I will cease being a dark author once my electricity bill is paid. I couldn't find a clean book-- so I figured it was time to dust. I don't sell many books because I am ahead of my time. Specifically, I haven't published anything yet.
I can't do audiobooks... I'll listen to for an hour, and lose track of what's going on in about 5-15 minutes. Probably an undiagnosed ADHD thing... but, I can read and play video games for hours.
I was so worried I killed too many people in my book 1-4, hearing that's normal made me feel better. I been writing since 12 (45 now) still wonder if I am a writer. And audiobooks aren't real books?? They been around for AGES
i wish someone had a video of how to structure the basic things of writing a page like dialogs or telling showing etc as an non american i have been taught a different system of writing that is the same as scripting a movie not writing a book so i dont know how to write a book that everybody except my country can read
Jenn long time! You were one of the first booktubers I watched when I started writing Indie books several years ago. I am now developing my marketing skills. Happy to see your video and continue providing advice.
Hello Jenna. Love your content. I have a request, would love to hear your take on it..... Would you be able to give us writers advice and tips on-- "How to write a car chase" ❤
I got feedback from a writer's group that folded soon after that jargon was bad regardless of genre and I should somehow write my political space opera without using technical sounding words.
I'm one of those weirdos that will purchase a book from Amazon hardcopy, then use my Audible account to go get an audio version with my free credits. The hardcopy is a hedge against the coming 'dark ages'. lol.
So does my dark fantasy novel count as dark if right after the main character brutally murders a bunch of marauders, I then include a detailed description of a centipede crawling into one of the corpse’s eye
The "this is what you used your human brain for?" with the little dog just about made me lose it. Yep. 2nd: Marketing. My bain. I'm hoping that this year it will stop depressing me and I'll at least set up a web page ... maybe ... for the new book ... which is in now way ahead of it's time.
At the start of this video, I was worried because I do say dumb shit at times. Just completely random shit that my mouth blurts out before my brain comprehends it. But this, this was on a whole different level. God damn dude, against folks like this, I'm winning the Nobel prize for literature this year. Just what the hell.
Your humor is so fun lol. I've been stuck on how I should be going through with writing a book though. Is it easier to write a chapter and read through your writing to make improvements a few times or just write the book then do that OR do you have editors to do that for you?
I'm not Jenna but I would say that polish doesn't matter at all in the writing process. Most wanna be authors never even start or never finish their book anyway so worrying about polish is layers of pointless. Re-editing a draft once you're done is fine, you already finished. Stopping the writing process to worry about mistakes makes it way more likely you just give up. Just focus on making a good and entertaining story and worry about "polish" once you have nothing else to do. Aka you're done writing.
It's not easy but it's a good idea to ignore any editing until the entire story is complete, unless you've written books already and know you can handle it maybe. Otherwise you're almost guaranteed to never finish it, so all that polish is pointless anyway. Sometimes this really sucks because you might get a new idea midway through the story that massively changes things both in the earlier parts of the story and in the future, so it's hard to ignore the inconsistency and just keep going as if it was like that the whole time. But it's worth it, since once you have that complete story, things are more clear, not to mention you've proven to yourself that you can do it. Writing is hard, and writing a whole book is an insane task. As long as you try and write consistently, at least somewhat, it should work out. Good luck. ❤
Hello! I see you've gotten a few comments (though I'm not Jenna), but I'll also throw in my two cents if that's alright. (My experience is that I've just gotten done with the first draft of my first book, and have hundreds of hours thinking and writing other projects.) I would say it all depends on how you feel comfortable. There is no universal way to pour a cup of coffee, or universal way to clap your hands. The same can be said for what you will find easier to do. For me personally, I write some, reread over and over, fix multiple things, then when I have my whole book (as I do now) I will go in and re-polish. That way I just keep my momentum up in feeling cofident that what I wrote previously was good and made sense. Ultimately, you would probably want to try writing a short story going through and writing then editing, and another short story writing each chapter, editing, then going forward. Best of luck!
I try to read physical books, but, fact is, with a full-time job and three kids below the age of 10, I'm most likely to consume media in my car on the go, and that means audiobooks. #runonsentenceontherun
As someone who strives to say at least one dumb thing every day, I'd like to say to be dumb is to be human. To be unwilling to learn from your mistakes and to grow from them is to be a dumbass.
Totally agree with the "I'm a dark writer" thing, especially if it's just someone who won't STFU about how nobody can handle their dark dark fiction. What I really dislike about this behavior is that it means people tend to brush off my content warnings in general groups, lol. I write dark erotic fantasy, and it's the explicit sexual aspect to the violence that really gets people, so I do legitimately feel the need to warn them about the content in my books and make sure it's okay for me to even participate in whatever it is I'm interested in. Some other genre writers, like those who write splatterpunk/extreme horror, transgressive fiction, and the darker end of dark romance, should warn people about their content before they share it IMO.
1:54 why do i feel like my story is basically all of those categories LOL I mean to varying degrees of course, i would say it's like... 35% thriller, 20% mystery, 20% horror, 5% sci-fi and 20% fantasy...but still...
That's most stories isn't it? Exciting, mysterious, scary, plus fantasy/scifi elements? That describes most darker, thriller-ish books because it's going to be a mix in the end. It's not 100% thriller but no horror and no mystery lol
@@connorking984 yeaa fair point, but as i was listening to her list them off I was like "yea, that's like mine" to every single one, so i was like "wait a minute..."
Hi Jenna, I already get emails from you all the time, but I REALLY think you should write a comedy! You are sooooooooooooooo laugh-out-loud hi-fricken-larious! I love your vids! You're just a stand-up person who should write a little stand-up! I'D buy it, fo-sho!!!! :D
Could you at some point discuss Purple prose, and the appropriate times to use them? I didn't even know what they were until I joined my writer's group.
Lo más tonto que me ha dicho otro escritor: auto publiqué mi libro, pero no me gustó el resultado y cuando comencé a sacarlo con editorial, corregí varias cosas, incluso quité capítulos o los combiné para mejorar el ritmo de lectura; su comentario fue que estaba traicionando a mis lectores al hacer esos cambios No sé yo pero considero que si tienes la oportunidad de mejorar la calidad de tu trabajo, ¿por qué no tomarla?
Piensan, como todos, que su escribiendo es perfecto o al menos, alguien otro no lo va a mejorar o el editor no entienda su obra maestra o lo que sea. Especialmente cuando tu piensas sobre la verdad que nadie le gusta quitar capítulos y aún menos si es alguien otro que lo hace..
Ah, he malentendido tu comentario.. mi español es mid. No entiendo porque alguien pensará eso cuando no ha leído el libro original... Supongo es un poco como que dije en mi otro comentario. Nadie quiere cambiar lo que aman aún si es mejor. Eso o tienen mal recuerdos donde sus propios libros fallaron y no los arreglaron y ahora ellos ven a tu intentando a mejorar tus libros y es un lío ficologico por ellos. No se y me duele mi cabeza.
@@connorking984 don't worry. I posted in my language because in english I'm also mid hahaha and in writer spaces I've been bullied by the grammar police 😅 But exactly, the person who said I betrayed my previous readers was mad I took out a whole chapter after she made me look it was weak and a plot hole bringer. And the story was mine, not hers lol 🤷
@@MidoriGaleart I always assume there's a second reason for the crazy things people say, normal, nice people don't say stuff like "you betrayed your audience..." Lol
The anti e-book and audiobook crowd will never not be hilarious to me. “You may have consumed the exact same words I did, but you didn’t *actually* read the book because… uh… reasons.”
Different field but similar: "Hey guys! I have a great story for an animated web series. I just need you all to do all the production for it. But don't worry the story is great! I'll give you rev share once the series is successful." If you ever see this. Run.
I think the only time you should be allowed to claim you're an edgelord or a prude is if you're writing a retelling of a story that has been told Ad Nauseum for a niche audience. such as writing The little mermiad as a horror story or writing the Curse of Medusa as a children's play.
Something I sometimes hear is some variation of, "My characters have a mind of their own." They basically treat the characters like they have free will independent of the writer, and pretend that the writer somehow has no control over the characters' decisions. Um, no. These characters don't exist. You made them up with your mind. Snap back to reality for a second.
Can't agree more! I got tired repeating this. Now, I just slap whoever tells me this to bring them back to reality. It's quicker. Also, I am less distracted by acquaintances.
It's unfortunate because I personally know one of those middle aged guys who I would argue is ahead of his time in a literary sense, and a great writer.... but he is very behind the times technologically, and in terms of knowing how to present and promote his work, and it's absolutely destroyed his ability to sell any of it.
'To write a novel just do 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.' Making it a template where you just add the character name. Like all the cheap movies where you know the story before you have read it.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
"I couldn't find any clean books so I wrote my own!" The entirety of Christian Fiction would like a word with you
I've watched a few YT vids on Christian Fiction, and it's very much this. And they all are dissing other Christian Fiction authors for not being clean enough.
Like to add Christian fiction isn’t the only closed door romance (clean implies sex is dirty in a genre written by and for women in most part-and it’s origins-so the stigma being remoced matters) :)
@@wolfblaide the bible is dirtier than the books these people write about it 😭
Some would argue "Christian fiction" doesn't really exist. There are fictions written from a Christian worldview, yes, but...that's not the same thing; if it were, most works of fiction in the West would be considered "Christian fiction." The reader base heavily disagrees on what the genre of Christian-based fiction should be. That's probably one of the reasons why people say there's no "good" recent "Christian fiction." That, and most "popular" fiction in this genre tends to be focused on educating people about the Bible and not making waves, and, well, you can't have a good story without genuine conflict.
Need some examples?
Most fans of the genre agree that fiction that criticizes the church or questions the Bible is not Christian fiction, disqualifying almost all historical and modern fiction covering this topic.
Most also agree that fiction that hurts people and doesn't have an uplifting message cannot be considered part of the genre, disqualifying horror, suspense, crime noir, and similar.
Most agree that it can't uplift any sort of magic, mysticism, or secularism, disqualifying fantasy, sci-fi, and even comedy.
...at some point you have to ask yourself what's left? From what I've seen, only works that serve as thinly veiled sermons truly qualify. The problem with a sermon, though, is it's not intended to be entertaining.
@@KB-zq9ny Anything published by Bethany House I think. From what little I've seen, it's all Hallmark-y fluffy feel-good historical romances where people talk about Jesus sometimes
All of the music stopping at the, “Y’know, ‘cause they’re blind,” made me laugh way harder than it should have-
I'm one of the few weirdos that likes to listen to the audiobook while reading along with the e-book, because "brain go wee!"
kinda makes sense. It's like watching a show with the subtitles on
Same. ADHD thing for me
@@OlettaLianonah THAT is attention span surfing, hearing and reading is interesting though
I know a lot of people who do that, including myself.
neurodivergent brain is gunna neurodivert
That's how I like reading best too (though I prefer following with a hard copy vs an ebook because it strains my eyes less). It makes me feel safe, like I'm a kid in the 90s doing hooked on phonics or listening library. The only thing missing is the narrator telling me to turn the pages when I hear chimes ring.
You never meet a writer who's "behind" their time. Sounds like an untapped market.
#CareerGoals
That's just everyone writing in well traveled genres. Either you're innovating, you're just writing good widely appreciated stuff, or you're writing bored, tires stuff and that's the behind the times group.
@@connorking984Ever heard of sarcasm, my bro?
@@wowkir Ever consider that people just like to think out loud, "my bro"?
Lol
Hi, I'm Matthew, You now met a behind the time writer lol
"Unclean author." I am suddenly bestowed a title to be proud of! 😅😅😅
"So what then don't read it." "I don't have time to edit, just be grateful I let you read it." Those are not my words but from writers when told how difficult it was to read their story. I could come up with many more: "I don't have time to format it." So I didn't.
There's stories that are hard to read because of the way they're designed, and then there's stories that are hard to read because the writers are lazy. The first group put a lot of hard work to make their editing fit their concept. Lazy writers make for stories that COULD be amazing, but suck.
Sounds like they just can't handle criticism 😬 ... Which is understandable, but if they're gonna be putting their stories out for others to read, that's something they just need to get used to
aren't you doing someone a favor by reading their work?
@@wilthomas Do you read work that you can't understand due to misspelled words, broken thoughts, jumbled sentences. No way of knowing if it's thoughts or speech? It wasn't even given the thought of structure but placed out there and they get upset because when you give helpful criticism they claim "You didn't have to read it." Then why put it out there to be read?
I tried to be helpful even as they underline the following "Please be gentle, it's my first story." And I won't give praise for praise sake anymore.
Oh and I'm not the only one to try and be helpful but they don't want that it seems. One even said they didn't have the time to edit as they wanted to just publish it. Hence a waste of time to me now.
@@ib12us no, if they want me to do the favor of reading it, it should be comprehensibile.
In the 8th grade, I turned to my friend and asked her if her grandparents had kids…. Yeah. I did that.
"I'm going to be successful in writing because I'm the exception".
-Everyone.
Reminds me of that Buzz Lightyear meme where one toy on the shelf claims to be unique, and then it pans out to show thousands of identical toys.
I think you have to believe this as writer to get done with the work sometimes. I’ve always been confident in mine,In part because I know my track record and because I know what I can do to find engagement plus my own grind mindset. It’s just not in me to not be doing well at something I do and it’s okay to know where you are in the pack among your peers because that’s motivation to get better or maintain
@@Nothereforit174 I haven't thought of it that way before. Something to add onto the topic is that every writer has a unique voice to tell a story, so I guess in a way, everyone is the exception.
but i AM the exception tho, tbf
@@Green-3c34y65vrbu I can't tell if this is a joke or just arrogance lol.
Not so much with authors specifically, but in general, I hate that some people support YA being sexualized (thanks, SJM) and they do it by saying something like "But teens have sex" or "This is just what teenagers do." I don't care. That's no excuse for something like SJM's work to be marketed to *young high schoolers*.
AGREE BIG TIME
Especially when a lot of those YA books are toxic and can give these young people the wrong impression of love
@@iclynnx frrr
Technically its her publishers fault. She started in YA and basically invented and popularized NA (new adult 18-25). Her publisher marketed it as YA.
Also publishers naming YA 'young adult' in the firsr place is a problem, as in every other usage, young adults are 18-25..
But 100% agree on the page sex doesnt belong in YA
@@persephone3892 Or at least in certain conditions. Like "The Fault In Our Stars."
I have two degrees in English & Literature and I still struggle to write well. You know cause writing hard!
Writing involves a lot of patience and dedication in a sort of imperfect and "make do" way that can't really be learned outside of doing it or other stuff like it huh?
In regards to audiobooks. My mum could never read a book. Like it just never held her attention. But after she came to RARE2023 with me she really wanted to get into reading, after seeing how hyped i was to meet some of my favourites.
I gave her access to my audible account, and she has listened to the entirety of my favourite M/M series and we're both eagerly awaiting the next novel set in that universe. She's tripley excited because this one will star her favourite character from the series as the lead. And it makes me so freakin' happy she can get that level of joy, and experience that happiness i get from books.
I have ADHD/Autism/Dyslexia and while i can read a physical book for the most part there are days i really can't focus and audiobooks are the only way i can experience the story. Audiobooks are valid, you still experience the story, the only difference is someone reads it to you.
What is M/M?
@@ErikratKhandnalie it means romance between two male characters.
I love listening to M/M books. What is your favorite series? I want to check it out.
@@HeatherHalefly the Soulbound series by Hailey Turner. I got to meet her last year too she was lovely.
Oh there's also the Whyborne and Griffin Series by Jordan L Hawk too which was my first M/M series ever. Came across it in 2019 and i was so happy to finally have books in my favourite genre's featuring gay men in the leads, even if they were spicy.
I absolutely lost it at "I'm not a regular writer, I'm a dark writer." I adore your humour, Jenna, and that you're not afraid to poke fun at yourself. 😅
It made me immediately think of one of my favorite book series Guardians of Ga'hoole. It's a classic Heros Journey about talking owls and it has a body count higher than The Saviors Champion 😂.
I'm very guilty of this 💀
It doesn't help that my friends compare my world lore to dark souls in terms of well, how dark it is
I loved listening to books on tape as a kid because they had several readers voicing all the different characters. Now, it's usually just one reader who barely changes their voice and I quickly get bored.
I just had a lot of fun with the Sprawl Trilogy narrated by Jonathan Davis. Absolutely loved it because of his command over voices.
Ooh I loved books on tape!
One I had directed right at my face was how I'm not a real writer, because I haven't published anything
Nevermind the hours I logged writing down nearly every thought in my head so I can remember it later
Oh that's the one I aim at myself on a bad day lol
@@jettash0720
That's self-motivation, that's okay
You're always allowed to kick your own ass
@@OlettaLianoWell it does sound like you should perhaps write your own book at some point for the sake of it but also being a ghost writer is like... More of being an author than actually being one? It's technical, professional writing... Though not as romantic as writing for one self I suppose.
I have grown a love for audio books as I just don't have time to sit and read as much as I'd like but makes the commute to work much more fun.
"I'm a writer" - me, who is actually classified as a procrastinator
I'm not ahead of my time, the reality just hasn't caught up with my vision of me being a succesful author.
The audiobooks one always gets me. Like, I'm still consuming the book and getting the story???
First off, I just ENJOY them. I like being read to, it's soothing.
SECOND, I've always been a reader, BUT I have ADHD and autism. No matter how much I wanted to, finding a point where my brain would cooperate and LET me sit still and read was frustrating. Sometimes no matter how bad I want to find out what's next, my brain would just read the same line 15 times and process nothing.
On top of that, working full time gives me limited amount of time for hobbies. Audiobooks allow me to still read but ALSO have time draw/crochet/do another hobby.
For me it's a few personal things, and one observation and I don't care if other people like either but for me this is why I don't like them and I suspect others feel this and apply it antagonistically. One, it's less personal than normal reading because you have the pacing and voices defined for you. It's less your imagination to have the story altered just that little bit by the VAs who are professional talkers and definitely know how to alter a story with just their speaking manner. Probably for the better, of course, but still less for the imagination to do and the very defined and expressive voices kind of intrude on my chill reading session. I watch videos all the time there's a place for audio/visual content but books aren't usually that and thus it bothers some people. And the other reason is inherently that people who want to be proud of what they do will exclude people. And if that exclusión comes from the fact that one can't sit still then they'll say that that's a fault and argue on it. Because, it is, to some degree. But it's entertainment right? Faults and preferences and styles are irrelevant but they are there and people who want to cut people out of their in group will find a way to do so. Just positing this as true but not relevant, anyways.
is it okay to yuck the phrase "yuck someone's yum" bc somehow that phrase triggers my misophonia 🤣
yeah that one made me chuckle a bit.
Here's another stupid thing I've had another writer say to me as a way of criticizing/negging my wip for not pandering to their personal tastes: "I just know the best way to tell a story". Came from a (drum roll)... a near middle-aged white man convinced he was a literary genius and styling himself as a "teacher" to all other newbie writers despite his own literary education and reading experience consisted mostly of rereading Berserk over and over and little scope beyond that genre and medium (manga/anime). Oh, and all media pre-1990s and since was/is "not very well written" so not worth learning from or taking inspiration.
That's one of those comments that regardless of what he was talking about just reeks of self aggrandizement... Opinion ignored.
Not sure why you feel adding "near middle-aged white man" as a descriptor. Surely, the main point is that he wasn't well-read. This writer's sex and race had little to do with it.
@@horacelidenbrock3905 older guys absolutely get pompous, you can't ignore these things when they are factors in what kind of people say things
Someone once told they were moving to be "closer to their publisher." He was self-published...🤨
Good Lord 😂
audiobooks are a very different but equally valid experience! they're great for commutes or before bed.
This was too true! 😅
I have no accessibility issues with physical books, but i still prefer ebooks since i can be listening while driving, working out, etc. Otherwise id never get any reading done.
I knew someone who wrote screenplays with so much swearing/violence/abuse it didnt actually make sense. It didnt have any plot either. It had swearing and F's between every other word in the diagloue for no reason. I critiqued it and said that the story could be tweaked better to have some twists and turns and ya know, PLOT. But that the swearing felt out of place and didnt feel realistic. It was off putting and awkward. He said "Thanks for the feedback" to me and then said "Her feedback was Sh**, she just can't see my vision. It's ahead of its time" to my friend. He was seriously wearing some thick ass tarantino tinted glasses and never took on any feedback - he works in recruitment now lol 😅
Okay. Though something I (sometimes) notice in (some) kid’s movies is them using absurd euphemisms to avoid profanity when they could just avoid it by not having the characters attempt to swear at all.
so all his characters were Tourette syndrome toons wwith no introspection?
"Writers are like all human beings on this earth, which means they have the capability of being really fucking stupid"
Oh shit, I didn't realize I was getting a shout-out in this video.
I think the closest I got to the "Dark Writer" thing was one day at my writer's club I was doing a tragic backstory for my protagonist and didn't want it to be SA, and when we were sharing what we worked on that session I said "So, apparently I woke up today and chose vivisection" and just got nods all around like "yeah, that's valid"
YAAAAAAYYYY!!! A JENNA VIDEO!!!! (I have TSC, TSS, and Shut up and write the book! I read TSC, been putting off TSS, and read apart of and write the book)
I've always preferred audiobooks because I'm usually working, exercising, or on the move. It's super easy for me to pop in my headphones and knock out another chapter of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo while I'm cleaning the dishes.
E-books are also a boon for those who have limited living quarters or whose work or family situation means frequent moves. Less clutter and fewer HEAVY moving boxes.
1:12 I honestly wouldn't let you either 😂
My book isn't like other books... It's about my unique fictional world with characters I've worked on for years and is very personal to me and my experiences as a human☺
“You are completely unique, just like everyone else.”
When author say shit like "Don't read this if you can't handle dark themes" or something like that. Like what is that even supposed to mean? It doesn't even tell you anything about the book. Tell me what "dark" things are in your book.
Usually those author thing that a "warning" like that is a substitute for a trigger warning and it's not! Tell me what actually happens so I can tell if it's gonna trigger me or not!
The subpoint about covers is so real. I'm part of a few author groups on FB and most of the time when someone makes a post saying "Here's my cover, I did it myself!" it's like...we can tell luv cause it's poorly photoshopped with stock images and MS Paint fonts. It's even worse when someone says to hire a cover designer and they get defensive.
Thanks Jenn. You have really inspired me 2 write ✍️
Audiobooks are also great for people who have long commutes to work and don't have time to sit and read a physical books, or ebooks.
So glad Jenna is active again!!
Only heard it from one writer who wants me to beta-read their work... "I don't need Spellcheck. I don't write often enough for it to matter." ... Yeah, I will forever be confused by them telling me that.
I'm not a clean author, but im sure that at least some of them make it well known that they're clean just so some readers won't be put off by what they read, and end up with a feeling like "What that's it?"
A personal favorite I see is "I couldn't make any progress today X character didn't want to work with me/ tell me their story."
Imagining the story is fun but this feel like suck a cop out
Why not just say that the plot was complicated and you couldn't get any satisfactory writing done, happens all the time for me in programming and writing. Sometimes it's just tough out there
Apparently you’ve never had characters vying for attention in your imagination or being uncooperative. 😂 It’s part of the writing process for many writers especially those who are off-the-cuff or pansters (writing by the seat of your pants) rather than outliners and planners.
Planners might not have any notion of characters or plot, but come up with an idea and do what they get their nickname for; plan. They plan everything, outline, and then imagine and write to the plan.
Pansters write the characters and stories or parts of stories as it comes to them. Sometimes this comes from dreams. Some pansters feel more like they’re documenting the story as they learn it from or with the characters. Some days things go well, other days multiple characters bombard the writer and they’re overwhelmed trying to type/write 10,000 words before the words are forgotten, and many days it’s pretty quiet. And pansters also sometimes write a story out of order, whereas planners often write everything in order.
Then there are those who are a combination of the two; some call them plantsers. They write ‘by the seat of their pants” but also plan some things out.
It’s definitely not a “cop out” it’s just part of a different writing method and the writing experience. It’s also a lot more than “the plot was complicated” because most good plots are always quite complicated. Having an unsatisfactory writing day could be the same day characters aren’t cooperating, but it could also be many other circumstances such as a plot planning day going awry. I understand some might not relate because they don’t work that way themselves, but many writers who use this or a similar phrase genuinely mean what they say, even if it does sound more poetic.
@@LisaMarieFord As a planner, I have to say I write everything out of order, just in less detail (unless I’m really invested in the scene) and then try to piece everything together in what I like to call a “chapter plan”. Then I spend the next few days marinating details, researching, trying to make other things work, try to write in order once I finally have some semblance of structure… and then I procrastinate because I can’t meet my own standards for what I want to achieve with the plot lmao. Rinse and repeat until I actually make some progress for once 😂
@@lara_spithfire As a panster who maybe ventures just a finger into planster territory by creating character family trees and reference guides, maps, timelines, and whatnot all AFTER those parts are written true planner territory is unknown to me. 😂 That’s good to know that even planners can write out of order. I’ve asked a few planner friends and they all go in order; which astounds me. 😳 “But, but what do you do when this character goes over there and demands this part be written at 3am?” 😆 I’m curious and fascinated to learn about others’ writing methods. Ah, yes, the struggles with procrastination and other hindrances that we all encounter. And we haven’t even gotten to the editing part yet.
@@LisaMarieFord Yeeees TwT especially when you’re the kind of writer who only writes by editing, except what do you do if you are still trying to write the first draft? There’s nothing to fix so it’s harder to conjure up words even if I know in theory what is supposed to happen and what impact it’s supposed to have on the characters 😭😭😭
Just last month I asked a horror writing Facebook group if I should worry if I had gone too far in the finale of my paranormal thriller...
Most people responded with "Shut up. Are you kidding? Why are you worried about that?"
Yeah, I was admittedly too cautious.
I actually think it’s OK to ask yourself if you’ve gone too far. Not for fear of offending the prudes, but occasionally if you go too far in some fashion, super dark and twisted, perverted, or something really vile that would offend a lot of people, it’s not that you’re risking offense. But you’ve sucked the joy out of reading your book. Which means they may have been ready to recommend it to others and instead they will not recommend it, or actively tell people to avoid it. I read a book that I truly enjoyed and near the climax it went super dark, and there was a scene that was so distasteful and graphic it’s sort of haunted my brain a little bit. It wasn’t that it offended my sensibilities like a church lady, it was that it left a dark spot that took away my enjoyment of the book. And yes, without that horrifically graphic and twisted moment, I probably would’ve recommended the book to a lot of family and friends. In fact I might have considered it in my top five favorite. Instead I recommended it to nobody. I didn’t badmouth it, but I feel that is a align that authors should be careful to at least consider.
That is my concern. I think I have a a series (that is mostly written) that would greatly appeal to a certain reader… who might be turned off by two scenes near the conclusion of one of the five novels, two scenes that are much more extreme than the rest of the series. The scenes fit this story, but might turn away the potential readers for all the rest of the books as well.
But, since raising this concern on that forum and with my critique partner, I have had a young woman edit and review the whole book, and she said the scenes did not raise red flags for her so I'm leaving them as is.
@@PaulRWorthington Beware the opinion of the woman you used to test your book… There are a lot of women out there who regularly absorb true crime shows with some of the most horrific images and details. So they are desensitized to something like a chapter going to far. Make sure she’s not one of those. Not a good test subject.
It's a good question to ask, and one which I did ask both beta readers and family members. I had several questions, one being "is this too graphic, dark, etc" and the feedback was that I should tone it back. Even my dad, who loves my writing, said the more graphic parts were hard to read. I know I'm pretty desensitized in some respects (like, I could read The Exorcist and go to bed afterwards without issue) but I don't want to traumatize anyone. My book is meant to be a dark fantasy with elements of horror and thriller, but still - there are certain lines you can cross, even for those who enjoy edgier content.
At the moment im making a massive novel and I got this idea 2 years and it is so god dam long, like I’d you put them in books it will be like 10 to 12 books and in movies it will be like 12 to 15 movies, I am 14 so it will probably not be the best but Im a child so im just trying stuff
Well, I'm happy to report I have never said any of those things, so I guess my book's on the right track so far!
But Jeeenna, how could the populace possibly understand the nuances of my reskinned xrated animorphs fanfic!
😂😂😂😂
LOL #! is true about newbie poets, too! I help judge submissions for a local literary journal and most of our submissions are from "aspiring poets" who think the key to great poetry is to make it angsty and miserable, because beauty and wonder are just not "poetic" enough! Don't get me wrong - good poems can be sad, too, but that's not what makes them great poems. Fortunately, I think most people learn, eventually, if they keep at it.
I love you Jenna and I send people your way every chance I get.
I hear a lot of the nonsense here from people I know who want to be writers and it breaks my heart. And I am a new sub!
Thank God for audio books. I lived in Los Angeles for twenty years and one cannot deal with that traffic without books on tape. That being said, I personally feel more engrossed in the story when I sit down and read it. That's just my take.
Awesome video! ❤ I love your content, it really helps out with my writing a lot (and it’s just funny!)
"I'd love to write a book! Seriously, I've got so many ideas I've even got a few projects on the go."
"Oh cool, so what genre? What books do you like to read?"
"Books? Oh, I don't read books." *Crickets*😂
Speaking of clean books, what do you think of books with a clean version? I’ve been thinking of making a clean version excluding one planned short story entirely from the book and any potential other spicyness in the 18+ version
Clean. You gave me a really evil idea. Thanks!
...but can I pull off a clean but evil?
I totally get the audiobook thing. My muscles in my eyes don’t work correctly so I read slower. Get surgery for this, but that is surgery and I don’t really want it right now, so audiobooks is how I have been reading all my boats throughout my life. I even had audiobooks in college and my graduate program.
I hate writing groups for this reason. People just want praise instead of learning to do better.
#3 really felt like a setup
Not the Author but the indestry it's self - GRR Martin did an interview where he explained the naming prosses of characters and how he was tought that you should never name more than 1 characters starting with the same letters because it confuses readers. He also thought that was dumb.😂😂
When you have as many characters as Martin does, some of them will have to have a name that starts with the same letter. I do feel some names can be too similar, though. When I first started reading Game of Thrones, I kept getting Vaerys and Viserys mixed up.
I hate authors who project this idea that their book didn't take a great deal of careful planning especially in terms of plot, world building and structure. JK Rowling for example, said in an interview that “Harry Potter strolled into my head fully formed.”
I think claiming things like this is what gives young readers the impression that in order to be a writer, you have to be "meant to be" a writer. It makes it seem as if the story is something that happens outside of yourself. As if it was bestowed like a gift from the literary Gods, instead of being a product of the writers own imagination. That's why writers wonder of they are "meant to be" a writer.
Without realizing it, they associate it with destiny and divinity and low-key, there is something so grandiose about that. It diminishes personal agency. It diminishes the significant effort many writers put in, to do research or educate themselves about a subject before writing about it or practicing and getting better and better at their craft.
Also, many writers who don't self publish, rely on feedback or advice from agents, revisions from editors to whip their work into shape or streamline the crux of their story. That level of social support means it usually not the effort of just one person. So there is just no way, it came into her head "fully formed".
I love the Harry Potter series but that quote is just the pinnacle of stupid.
Not to defend JKR, but while she may say the main character popped into her head, she's also shared the notebooks and detailed charts she uses to plot her books, and talked about the years of work that went into the series. And that she failed for years before getting published. All told, she's hardly making a case for simply 'meant to be.' Isn't she the opposite?
My book came about because I got the idea from listening to a song (Haunted by Evanescence if you want to know.) Writing it down was hard, but I had it in my head fairly early on. (I was 15, now 35, it's taken 20 years and I'm still not finished!)
The protagonist in my story came into my head fairly fully formed. Her story took a lot of work and has changed many times though
Even if that was remotely possible, I'd rather develop a story through intellect and creativity, not have it plonked into my brain with zero skill involved.
@@InvisiblerApple Some people are highly imaginative, it still takes skill to get that down on paper though.
"#4 is spot on!" - This middle aged male writer. I'm 55 with 7 novels. A year from now it will be twelve with a new trilogy with Aethon Books. I worked my stale, wrinkled 🏀 ⚾s off to learn the business side. I get asked once or twice a month by other old crusty dudes in my demo about becoming an author. I ask them, "Red pill or blue pill?" because they truly think it will be "passive income." (
I'm not like other authors. I'm a dark author!
I will cease being a dark author once my electricity bill is paid.
I couldn't find a clean book-- so I figured it was time to dust.
I don't sell many books because I am ahead of my time. Specifically, I haven't published anything yet.
😂
I can't do audiobooks... I'll listen to for an hour, and lose track of what's going on in about 5-15 minutes. Probably an undiagnosed ADHD thing... but, I can read and play video games for hours.
Jenna’s humour is the best
I was so worried I killed too many people in my book 1-4, hearing that's normal made me feel better. I been writing since 12 (45 now) still wonder if I am a writer. And audiobooks aren't real books?? They been around for AGES
Stupid shit I (someone who writes for fun in her spare time) say: I'll finish this soon as long as there are no distractions!
"Dont yuck someone's yum"
Brilliant, I love this
nice to see QueenCyboorg is back...so missed her
4:17 yes. Yes you do😂
i wish someone had a video of how to structure the basic things of writing a page like dialogs or telling showing etc as an non american i have been taught a different system of writing that is the same as scripting a movie not writing a book so i dont know how to write a book that everybody except my country can read
Jenn long time! You were one of the first booktubers I watched when I started writing Indie books several years ago.
I am now developing my marketing skills.
Happy to see your video and continue providing advice.
Hello Jenna.
Love your content.
I have a request, would love to hear your take on it.....
Would you be able to give us writers advice and tips on--
"How to write a car chase"
❤
I got feedback from a writer's group that folded soon after that jargon was bad regardless of genre and I should somehow write my political space opera without using technical sounding words.
Ah, the old "Usually this is bad so never do it, ever" advice. Of course the truth is somewhere in the middle heh
I'm one of those weirdos that will purchase a book from Amazon hardcopy, then use my Audible account to go get an audio version with my free credits. The hardcopy is a hedge against the coming 'dark ages'. lol.
So does my dark fantasy novel count as dark if right after the main character brutally murders a bunch of marauders, I then include a detailed description of a centipede crawling into one of the corpse’s eye
The "this is what you used your human brain for?" with the little dog just about made me lose it. Yep. 2nd: Marketing. My bain. I'm hoping that this year it will stop depressing me and I'll at least set up a web page ... maybe ... for the new book ... which is in now way ahead of it's time.
Then there's the classic, "I've got writer's block."
Ebooks aside as they're easy to produce, how the hell do you get an audio book as an indie writer?
At the start of this video, I was worried because I do say dumb shit at times. Just completely random shit that my mouth blurts out before my brain comprehends it.
But this, this was on a whole different level. God damn dude, against folks like this, I'm winning the Nobel prize for literature this year. Just what the hell.
Don't let the worst comments from the worst people alter your perspective. Just keep your head on straight and keep trying
I really hope I can get the book.
Your humor is so fun lol. I've been stuck on how I should be going through with writing a book though. Is it easier to write a chapter and read through your writing to make improvements a few times or just write the book then do that OR do you have editors to do that for you?
I'm not Jenna but I would say that polish doesn't matter at all in the writing process. Most wanna be authors never even start or never finish their book anyway so worrying about polish is layers of pointless. Re-editing a draft once you're done is fine, you already finished. Stopping the writing process to worry about mistakes makes it way more likely you just give up. Just focus on making a good and entertaining story and worry about "polish" once you have nothing else to do. Aka you're done writing.
It's not easy but it's a good idea to ignore any editing until the entire story is complete, unless you've written books already and know you can handle it maybe. Otherwise you're almost guaranteed to never finish it, so all that polish is pointless anyway. Sometimes this really sucks because you might get a new idea midway through the story that massively changes things both in the earlier parts of the story and in the future, so it's hard to ignore the inconsistency and just keep going as if it was like that the whole time. But it's worth it, since once you have that complete story, things are more clear, not to mention you've proven to yourself that you can do it. Writing is hard, and writing a whole book is an insane task. As long as you try and write consistently, at least somewhat, it should work out. Good luck. ❤
Hello! I see you've gotten a few comments (though I'm not Jenna), but I'll also throw in my two cents if that's alright. (My experience is that I've just gotten done with the first draft of my first book, and have hundreds of hours thinking and writing other projects.)
I would say it all depends on how you feel comfortable. There is no universal way to pour a cup of coffee, or universal way to clap your hands. The same can be said for what you will find easier to do.
For me personally, I write some, reread over and over, fix multiple things, then when I have my whole book (as I do now) I will go in and re-polish. That way I just keep my momentum up in feeling cofident that what I wrote previously was good and made sense.
Ultimately, you would probably want to try writing a short story going through and writing then editing, and another short story writing each chapter, editing, then going forward.
Best of luck!
I try to read physical books, but, fact is, with a full-time job and three kids below the age of 10, I'm most likely to consume media in my car on the go, and that means audiobooks. #runonsentenceontherun
As someone who strives to say at least one dumb thing every day, I'd like to say to be dumb is to be human. To be unwilling to learn from your mistakes and to grow from them is to be a dumbass.
Totally agree with the "I'm a dark writer" thing, especially if it's just someone who won't STFU about how nobody can handle their dark dark fiction. What I really dislike about this behavior is that it means people tend to brush off my content warnings in general groups, lol.
I write dark erotic fantasy, and it's the explicit sexual aspect to the violence that really gets people, so I do legitimately feel the need to warn them about the content in my books and make sure it's okay for me to even participate in whatever it is I'm interested in. Some other genre writers, like those who write splatterpunk/extreme horror, transgressive fiction, and the darker end of dark romance, should warn people about their content before they share it IMO.
1:54 why do i feel like my story is basically all of those categories LOL
I mean to varying degrees of course, i would say it's like... 35% thriller, 20% mystery, 20% horror, 5% sci-fi and 20% fantasy...but still...
That's most stories isn't it? Exciting, mysterious, scary, plus fantasy/scifi elements? That describes most darker, thriller-ish books because it's going to be a mix in the end. It's not 100% thriller but no horror and no mystery lol
@@connorking984 yeaa fair point, but as i was listening to her list them off I was like "yea, that's like mine" to every single one, so i was like "wait a minute..."
Hi Jenna, I already get emails from you all the time, but I REALLY think you should write a comedy! You are sooooooooooooooo laugh-out-loud hi-fricken-larious! I love your vids! You're just a stand-up person who should write a little stand-up! I'D buy it, fo-sho!!!! :D
The Cyborg Queen posted! :D :D :D
the AI I use as a beta reader makes my text clean... keeps my content PG13 for the most part. I don't want the label...
Could you at some point discuss Purple prose, and the appropriate times to use them? I didn't even know what they were until I joined my writer's group.
Lo más tonto que me ha dicho otro escritor: auto publiqué mi libro, pero no me gustó el resultado y cuando comencé a sacarlo con editorial, corregí varias cosas, incluso quité capítulos o los combiné para mejorar el ritmo de lectura; su comentario fue que estaba traicionando a mis lectores al hacer esos cambios
No sé yo pero considero que si tienes la oportunidad de mejorar la calidad de tu trabajo, ¿por qué no tomarla?
Piensan, como todos, que su escribiendo es perfecto o al menos, alguien otro no lo va a mejorar o el editor no entienda su obra maestra o lo que sea. Especialmente cuando tu piensas sobre la verdad que nadie le gusta quitar capítulos y aún menos si es alguien otro que lo hace..
Ah, he malentendido tu comentario.. mi español es mid.
No entiendo porque alguien pensará eso cuando no ha leído el libro original... Supongo es un poco como que dije en mi otro comentario. Nadie quiere cambiar lo que aman aún si es mejor.
Eso o tienen mal recuerdos donde sus propios libros fallaron y no los arreglaron y ahora ellos ven a tu intentando a mejorar tus libros y es un lío ficologico por ellos. No se y me duele mi cabeza.
@@connorking984 don't worry. I posted in my language because in english I'm also mid hahaha and in writer spaces I've been bullied by the grammar police 😅
But exactly, the person who said I betrayed my previous readers was mad I took out a whole chapter after she made me look it was weak and a plot hole bringer. And the story was mine, not hers lol 🤷
@@MidoriGaleart I always assume there's a second reason for the crazy things people say, normal, nice people don't say stuff like "you betrayed your audience..." Lol
The anti e-book and audiobook crowd will never not be hilarious to me.
“You may have consumed the exact same words I did, but you didn’t *actually* read the book because… uh… reasons.”
Different field but similar:
"Hey guys! I have a great story for an animated web series. I just need you all to do all the production for it. But don't worry the story is great! I'll give you rev share once the series is successful."
If you ever see this. Run.
I think the only time you should be allowed to claim you're an edgelord or a prude is if you're writing a retelling of a story that has been told Ad Nauseum for a niche audience. such as writing The little mermiad as a horror story or writing the Curse of Medusa as a children's play.
Something I sometimes hear is some variation of, "My characters have a mind of their own." They basically treat the characters like they have free will independent of the writer, and pretend that the writer somehow has no control over the characters' decisions.
Um, no. These characters don't exist. You made them up with your mind. Snap back to reality for a second.
Can't agree more! I got tired repeating this. Now, I just slap whoever tells me this to bring them back to reality. It's quicker. Also, I am less distracted by acquaintances.
Damn everytime I return to this channel you look so different. It's like the Cyborg is aging
I'm an anti-2 (proudly dirty), maybe a 1 and I'm wondering how to avoid being a 4 since I don't use Internet that much.
It's unfortunate because I personally know one of those middle aged guys who I would argue is ahead of his time in a literary sense, and a great writer.... but he is very behind the times technologically, and in terms of knowing how to present and promote his work, and it's absolutely destroyed his ability to sell any of it.
Love the video as always.❤❤❤
We luh Jenna
Typing luh is so funny to me
I think I’m gonna market myself as a dirty author… 😂
Jenna's book title is the response to all whining writers...shut up and write.
At i min 8 secs "... one time I ..." What is wrong with "...once I..."?
'To write a novel just do 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc.' Making it a template where you just add the character name. Like all the cheap movies where you know the story before you have read it.