http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ Web Fiction Guide Forums » Tag: best practices - Recent Topics en Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:30:15 +0000 http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/special-extrasin-betweens#post-7358 Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:40:49 +0000 Erin Klitzke 7358@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>For about the past week, I've been following some advice that I've seen in various places: I've been assessing different projects and figuring out which ones are viable and worth hanging on to, which are salvageable, and which should be given the heave-ho. This has resulted in considering the broader "universe" of <em>Awakenings</em>. I have a novelette that I'd considered developing into a larger work, though I've since decided that I probably will never get around to it. However...there is significant promise for this work as part of the <em>Awakenings</em> universe.</p> <p>My question to folks is thus: I'm within a few chapters of the end of Book One of <em>Awakenings</em>, and I was wondering what everyone does when they come to the end of one major story arc. Do you just launch into the next one, or do you divide it up by adding extras and "filler episodes"?</p> <p>If you do special extras, where and when do you post them?</p> <p>I look forward to thoughts and such! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/how-do-you-define-your-update-schedule-thinking-about-changing-mine#post-6696 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 09:44:53 +0000 Erin Klitzke 6696@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I started my fiction serial <em>Awakenings</em> earlier this month with the original intention of doing updates every Monday and Friday. In keeping up with this and keeping myself ahead of my update schedule, I've realized that I probably produce enough material week to week that I could go ahead and do three updates a week rather than two, which would mean that I'm getting up full chapters <em>slightly</em> faster than I am right now.</p> <p>How has everyone here come to their decisions on how frequently to update their fiction on the web? I'm looking for some thoughts and advice on whether I should increase my update schedule to three updates a week rather than the two I'm doing now. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/poll-what-do-you-use-to-make-your-web-pages#post-4509 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:44:41 +0000 Drayco84 4509@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>For anyone that's come by and looked at my site: <a href="http://dragonoftwilight.net" rel="nofollow">http://dragonoftwilight.net</a>, you'll notice one thing... IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP! (Then again, maybe it's just me and I'm using "author vision", where one's own works look like sins against the natural order, despite your best attempts at trying to make something decent and/or beautiful.) Now, I USED to use KompoZer, but I've recently switched over to SeaMonkey Composer, which isn't all that different. </p> <p>So, to the main point, please list your site and what you used to make it. Something like...</p> <p>Site: <a href="http://dragonoftwilight.net" rel="nofollow">http://dragonoftwilight.net</a><br /> Tool: SeaMonkey </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/web-fiction-writers-guild-survey#post-5949 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:43:38 +0000 A. M. Harte 5949@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>You may have heard of the google group discussing the Webfiction Writers Guild and how it's going to work.</p> <p>Well, all that talking has resulted in a survey to try set some ground rules on definitions and such. (Yay, democracy!) </p> <p>If you have a few minutes to spare please fill <a href="http://is.gd/ga6kJ">out the survey</a>.</p> <p>And do pass it one to any other webfiction writers you know! </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/your-assistance-required#post-5227 Tue, 11 May 2010 11:26:02 +0000 Gavin Williams 5227@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>My first story, No Man an Island, is a complete novel with good ratings on WFG. I'm not too worried about it (though you can read it if you want to). </p> <p>My second story, The Surprising Life and Death of Diggory Franklin, is an ongoing serial, and I'm not worried about completing it (having too much fun) and it's also been well-received. You can read that if you want to also.</p> <p>My problem is my third story, The Samaritan Project. I have NOT submitted it to WFG because it's not in any shape for a review. In fact, I'm at the point that I don't know if I want to keep writing it. I need some objective people to drop by and take a look. Here's my blog where I worry about it: <a href="http://gavinwilliams.digitalnovelists.com/node/682" rel="nofollow">http://gavinwilliams.digitalnovelists.com/node/682</a> and there are links to find my stories there.</p> <p>I need some perspective on whether the story as it has been conceived is worth continuing, or if I need to start over somehow. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/rewriting-older-works#post-4741 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 09:36:49 +0000 allantmichaels 4741@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>So my current work in progress is coming to an end in the next couple months and then I'll probably be taking a hiatus to plot the next volume. In the meantime, to keep the writing skills sharp, I was thinking of going back and rewriting my first two efforts at Superstition. It was some of my first writing and I think my regular readers will tell you I've grown a lot as an author since then.</p> <p>I'm writing to ask the following questions:</p> <p>1. Is it worth it to go back and rewrite older works?</p> <p>2. If I do rewrite, should I repost the work? Or should I offer the revised edition for sale as a PDF? Some combination of the two?</p> <p>In general, I figure it'll be a lot quicker through this time, since the story is written. It's really a matter of editing and cleaning up a lot of the infodump/messy purple prose of the first draft.</p> <p>I appreciate any thoughts. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/how-do-you-stick-to-your-schedule#post-3078 Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:45:31 +0000 Wysteria 3078@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Sticking to a schedule is one of the things I most respect in a web author, and one of the things I'm worst about. <a href="http://wsteria.livejournal.com/">Tapestry</a> is, as of this writing, approximately nine months behind where I would like it to be. I don't even pretend to have a schedule for it aside from 'when I can find the time' but I'd really, really like one. </p> <p>So I come to y'all, to ask how you do it. How do you find the time for one update a week, three updates a week, an update a day, or however much you do update? How did you decide on your schedule to start with? What do you do when life throws you a curve ball and you get behind? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/plotting#post-387 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:24:19 +0000 Jim Zoetewey 387@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>Here's something I'm curious about: How do other people do plots for their stories?</p> <p>Personally, I tend to come with the general shape of the plot and then fill in the details later. In my current serial, I generally think about the arc I'm working on in great detail without too much thought to what that means for the specifics of what comes later.</p> <p>Thus I've got my current serial divided into three parts, but I don't know many specifics about what's going to happen in part two or part three. I've got some specific scenes planned out, but I don't know exactly how I'll get to them. I've just got a vague sense of what part of the story they appear in.</p> <p>I leave a lot open for spur of the moment ideas even in the well planned parts (like the current arc I'm writing).</p> <p>Do other people do anything similar? Totally different? </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/navigation-question#post-686 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:42:33 +0000 Drew Daniels 686@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>As I browse through my site logs, I can't help but notice that most new readers tend to read my most recent post before reading anything else, and then click through several other pages before finding the first. I realized recently that this may be because there is only 1 direct link to the beginning of the story (which is on the main page.)</p> <p>So my question is this, should I put a link to the first segment in the infoboxes for each segment? It isn't difficult to do so that's not an issue, I would simply put it about the "previous" and "next" links. But I'm not honestly sure if that's why people are clicking around so much before settling down, or if it's simply the nature of individuals </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/update-frequency-buffers-and-pacing#post-52 Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:39:54 +0000 Jim Zoetewey 52@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>I don't know about other people, but I'm generally unsatisfied with how far I'm getting in the story on any given week.</p> <p>I update twice a week (Tuesday and Friday). I try to have an installment ready by 1 or 2 am my time (Eastern), but often I end up updating the next morning, early afternoon or even evening of the day I plan for. This isn't the end of the world because in the end, it's always up.</p> <p>It's just that it would be easier if I ever developed a buffer, of say, one post or wrote shorter updates or something... Except honestly, if anything I should be writing longer updates (because seriously I just spent two weeks in which all my characters did was talk and this is a superhero serial...).</p> <p>Mind you, all that talking had a purpose and we're just about out of it, but with two updates a week, you really can have two weeks of talking fairly easily. </p> <p>In an ideal world I'd be doing three posts of about the same length I'm currently doing, and then, (or so I tell myself) the story would move faster.</p> <p>...</p> <p>Hmmn. Well, that was a bit of a ramble. There may even be a point in there somewhere.</p> <p>Deeply hidden.</p> <p>Anyway, I guess I'm not looking for suggestions so much as checking whether other people feel my pain.</p> <p>Though I'll take suggestions. </p> http://forums.webfictionguide.com/topic/choose-your-own-narrative#post-320 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:08:34 +0000 Drew Daniels 320@http://forums.webfictionguide.com/ <p>So, at some point I'm going to start a Choose Your Own Adventure story and I've run into the dilemma of deciding the particular style and tense. So below I have three two-paragraph segments written in different styles and/or tenses. What I'd like is WFG's help in deciding what would would be more pleasing to see in a CYOA. Also, if anyone has a suggestion for a different style or tense, I'd be more than happy to post a sample in said style. On with the samples!</p> <p>---</p> <blockquote><p> You are standing to the west of a white house. There is a mailbox here. As you walk around the outside of the house, you find that all of the windows and doors are boarded up. After finding no way in, you decide to follow a path into the surrounding woods.</p> <p>Eventually you come across a large ravine. There is a rickety bridge here, which leads all the way across. There's also a set of stairs that look a lot safer heading to the ground. Do you take the quicker path over the bridge? Or the safer path down the stairs.</p> </blockquote> <p>---<br /> <blockquote> <p>I found myself standing on the west side of a white house in front of a mailbox. After walking around the perimeter, I realized that all of the doors and windows were boarded up. Since there was no way for me to get inside, I decided to take a small path that lead into the surrounding woods.</p> <p>Eventually I ran into a large ravine. There was a rickety bridge that lead all the way across. I also noticed that there was a set of stairs leading down that looked like a much safer way of getting across. So I had to wonder, take the quick way across the bridge, or the safer way down the stairs.</p> </blockquote> ---<br /> <blockquote> <p>I'm standing on the west side of a of a white house in front of a mailbox. I realize that there's no way in as walk around. All the doors and windows are boarded up so I start down a little path that leads into the surrounding woods.</p> <p>I doesn't take long, and soon I'm at the edge of a large ravine. A rickety bridge leading across swings lazily in a breeze. I look around, noticing the set of stairs that leads to the bottom of the ravine. Now I have a choice. Move quickly across the bridge, or safely down the stairs.</p></blockquote>