Lounge II (The Lounge Strikes Back)

[Silk she/her]

On 1/26/2022 at 6:10 PM, LeonardChurch said:

Also, anyone know how to pace without an outline here? cause I'm kinda lost.

Definitely agree with @Mandamon - if you're writing without an outline, the time to figure out pacing is really the second draft. It's much easier to see what needs to be trimmed, expanded, slowed down, sped up, when you've got the whole story in front of you. And it probably will be a mess, but honestly - there's no real reason to get it "right" the first time!

I have had some success with just mapping out the emotional beats I want to hit in a given story, not focusing on plot or details. But even that takes practice over a few stories or books, and it's certainly not foolproof. But honestly, if you're committed to pantsing, really the the best thing to do is just not worry about it until the second draft. 

(You don't have to be committed to pantsing, though! I pansted my halfway through my first novel, got annoyed with pantsing, wrote a detailed outline to about the 80 or 90% mark, got bored with the outline, went back to pantsing. The book was a mess, but it was a mess with an ending.)

[Appol PhD they/he]

On 1/26/2022 at 9:10 PM, LeonardChurch said:

Also, anyone know how to pace without an outline here? cause I'm kinda lost.

Also want to add on that as someone who does outline a bit (~3 page outline per novel), it's not like my pacing is always great either. So yeah, like others have been saying, go ahead and dive into it! You won't be missing out on anything  

[Asmodemon he/him]

On 27-1-2022 at 3:10 AM, LeonardChurch said:

Also, anyone know how to pace without an outline here? cause I'm kinda lost.

Like the others have said, I wouldn't worry about it while you're making the first draft. I work from an outline, but I don't think that much about pacing until I'm done with the first draft and start revising. 

What you can perhaps try is to make a scene list when you're done drafting (or while drafting, whenever you're done with a scene you put it in the scene list) and note for each scene if it's a proactive or reactive scene, if it's slow or fast paced, and other things you might want to know about the scenes. Then if you see that you have several slow scenes in a row (for example) you'll know you need to spice it up in the edits.

[Mandamon he/him]

Oh hey, I should probably promote this in here. I have a Kickstarter beginning June 1st to fund the first year of my publishing company, Space Wizard Science Fantasy! @Silk, @shatteredsmooth, @Robinski, and @kais are all participating as well. So if you interested in the twelve(!) books coming over the next year, check it out! You can set the preview to notify you when then campaign starts.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spacewizard/64225743?ref=3jrf0s&token=3f3611d0

[Silk she/her]

17 hours ago, Mandamon said:

Oh hey, I should probably promote this in here. I have a Kickstarter beginning June 1st to fund the first year of my publishing company, Space Wizard Science Fantasy! @Silk, @shatteredsmooth, @Robinski, and @kais are all participating as well. So if you interested in the twelve(!) books coming over the next year, check it out! You can set the preview to notify you when then campaign starts.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spacewizard/64225743?ref=3jrf0s&token=3f3611d0

...how did I know that was how you were going to end that video...

[karamel she/her]

I've been meaning to share this for months but i kept forgetting

Anyway, this felt really accurate to this group and I thought it was funny so I'm sharing it with yall

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/v8zopc/to_read_a_scifi_classic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

[Silk she/her]

5 hours ago, karamel said:

I've been meaning to share this for months but i kept forgetting

Anyway, this felt really accurate to this group and I thought it was funny so I'm sharing it with yall

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/v8zopc/to_read_a_scifi_classic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

"sheegly deegly reegly reegl" is the new "lorem ipsum"

[Robinski he/him]

7 hours ago, karamel said:

I've been meaning to share this for months but i kept forgetting

Anyway, this felt really accurate to this group and I thought it was funny so I'm sharing it with yall

That's LMAO hilarious  

[Mandamon he/him]

8 hours ago, karamel said:

I've been meaning to share this for months but i kept forgetting

Anyway, this felt really accurate to this group and I thought it was funny so I'm sharing it with yall

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanattempt/comments/v8zopc/to_read_a_scifi_classic/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

 

Ha!

Excellent.

[The Isochronism he/him]

I just found the perfect publisher, and anyone who ever wants to submit a book should totally submit to these guys! I've already submitted a few things my self in fact.

https://www.universalrejection.org/

[Robinski he/him]

On 30/08/2022 at 2:05 AM, Bondsmith-Edgedancer said:

I just found the perfect publisher, and anyone who ever wants to submit a book should totally submit to these guys! I've already submitted a few things my self in fact.

https://www.universalrejection.org/

Bah, ha-ha-ha!  

That's hilarious.

[Silk she/her]

On 8/29/2022 at 6:05 PM, Bondsmith-Edgedancer said:

I just found the perfect publisher, and anyone who ever wants to submit a book should totally submit to these guys! I've already submitted a few things my self in fact.

https://www.universalrejection.org/

Hah! This is great.

[Silk she/her]

Did... did we all forget to post this here? 

As of almost two weeks ago(!), Farther Reefs, an anthology of sapphic fantasy stories, is out in the world! Published by @Mandamon's small press Space Wizard and with stories by @Mandamon, @kais, @Robinski, @shatteredsmooth (Shard is doing the thing again and won't let me tag them), and me, plus five other authors (or in one case, co-authoring team!):  https://www.amazon.com/Farther-Reefs-Adventure-Relationships-Nautical-ebook/dp/B0B99D1LC2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2XI7MA76F13Y7&keywords=farther+reefs&qid=1666818346&sprefix=farther+reef%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1 

My particular story involves pirates, sea monsters, and historians who make bad decisions. 

PS: I am behind on critiques, I know. I blame the puppy. Working on catching back up. 

[Mandamon he/him]

14 minutes ago, Silk said:

Did... did we all forget to post this here? 

Oh, uhhh...yes?

[Silk she/her]

Hello folks! Just a quick note that I've finished this year's "annual" cleanup of the email list. As usual, I tried not to delete anyone in error, but if Monday morning rolls around and you find you're not getting emails, shoot me a quick message with the email that you need me to re-add and I'll do that.

[K. Preston]

Quick question,

Does anyone use, know, or have information on the two popular editing programs (prowritingaid, and grammarly) I am currently only using MS Word. What I am curious about is knowing how much more they add beyond Word and also if they can assist with creative writing styles? As I am sure most of you that have read my submissions know, my grammar is randomly poor, and my ability to proofread it is not much better. That is not my only reason for asking. I just want to take my current and future work to the next level, and despite all your helpful critiques, I could end up editing till the next decade. 

Thanks

K.P.

[Mandamon he/him]

14 hours ago, K. Preston said:

Quick question,

Does anyone use, know, or have information on the two popular editing programs (prowritingaid, and grammarly) I am currently only using MS Word. What I am curious about is knowing how much more they add beyond Word and also if they can assist with creative writing styles? As I am sure most of you that have read my submissions know, my grammar is randomly poor, and my ability to proofread it is not much better. That is not my only reason for asking. I just want to take my current and future work to the next level, and despite all your helpful critiques, I could end up editing till the next decade. 

Thanks

K.P.

I've used prowritingaid to catch edits before I finish a book. It's good at finding long sentences, UK English vs. American, repeated words. If you really want to edit down a book to take out all the fluff, it does a good job. Just takes a while!

As for simple grammar, I'd pay attention to Word's suggestion (the blue and green underlines), if you have a more recent copy. It does a pretty good job.

[K. Preston]

5 hours ago, Mandamon said:

As for simple grammar, I'd pay attention to Word's suggestion (the blue and green underlines), if you have a more recent copy. It does a pretty good job.

What proofreading options do you have turned on in Word? I have it fairly strict to include looking for passive voice and adverbs. It does seem to miss things randomly here and there. 

[Mandamon he/him]

1 hour ago, K. Preston said:

What proofreading options do you have turned on in Word? I have it fairly strict to include looking for passive voice and adverbs. It does seem to miss things randomly here and there. 

I have it on the default. It does miss a few things, but picks up a lot more errors like numerical matching or comma placement.

[Mandamon he/him]

Hey--time to post this again! It's the second year of the Space Wizard Science Fantasy Kickstarter!

We're about 40% funded so far, but still need a lot more backers, so please check it out! @kais, @Robinski, @Silk, @shatteredsmooth, @JWerner, and @Cathy Lim are all featured in the campaign for various books, including our new anthology, Lofty Mountains, which also has a story by Seanan McGuire!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spacewizard/space-wizard-science-fantasy-year-2

Edited June 19, 2023 by Mandamon

[Silk she/her]

On 6/13/2023 at 6:26 AM, Mandamon said:

Hey--time to past this again! It's the second year of the Space Wizard Science Fantasy Kickstarter!

I would like to also point out that we have returned to the fine tradition of making fools of ourselves on the Internet to celebrate hitting our funding goals:

 

 

[Silk she/her]

Lofty Mountains is out today! Featuring stories by me, @kais, @Mandamon, @Robinski, and @shatteredsmooth (also Seanan McGuire!) among others. Plus art by @Snakenaps.

For those in the US, Bookshop.org has free shipping today! or, you can always get it from Amazon.

 

 

[Robinski he/him]

Ain't that a pretty thing. So pleased to be able to write a sequel to The Vermillion Lady, and what great company to be in with this anthology.

[Fauxsaurus he/him]

Hey everyone, long time no see! Just wanted to let you know that I finally released my debut novel, Ghost Girl and the Ghost Giant. (Special thanks to @Silk, @Mandamon, @Robinski, @shatteredsmooth, @kais, and @FlowerGirlfor providing feedback in the early stages so long ago!)

 

[Silk she/her]

On 11/13/2024 at 2:10 PM, Minifyre said:

Hey everyone, long time no see! Just wanted to let you know that I finally released my debut novel, Ghost Girl and the Ghost Giant. (Special thanks to @Silk, @Mandamon, @Robinski, @shatteredsmooth, @kais, and @FlowerGirlfor providing feedback in the early stages so long ago!)

 

Congrats, this is exciting!