Greetings fellow /lit/erati!
Board FAQ plus some odds and ends: https://8ch.net/lit/oddsandends.html
Here are the rules:
1. Follow the Global Rules.
2. Try to keep things literature related.
3. No spamming.
4. No illegal content.
That is all.
Let your minds and fingers roam free!
VNs
Does /lit/ into VNs?
Visual novels are basically books with pictures, and sometimes a game tossed in the middle with a bit of choose your own adventure and so on. Some consider them to be video games, and some are more like video games. But how much are they akin to literature?
Have you read any? Enjoyed any?
ITT the last book you read
Aside from having been around forever, the previous thread is autosaging. New year, new thread.
Post the last book you have read. It would be nice if you add a synopsis or review as well, but it's not a requirement. Just seeing a snapshot of what other image-board anons are reading is itself awesome.
lazy fatass fuck
Hello everyone, I am a lazy fatass fuck. It takes me 7 fucking years to write a penny-dreadful, film-script based "novel". And it doesn't matter that it's my full time fucking job, literally the only thing I'm required to do, or that I jack off at 67 years of age by taking bum fuck vacations all over the world to live off the prestige of my now stagnate series that I can't fucking finish, that I'm constantly giving interviews and bullshit for the industry, and that I'm writing OTHER books that literally no one gives a fuck about. That's right, I'm not writing for the series that is the sole reason for all my fame and which everyone wants, no, I write other books that are truly shit and no one gives a fuck about. And when those that gave me all this money call me out on this shit, the best I can do is twiddle my fat fingers, flip them off and then whine on my blog about how ashamed I am of being a lazy fatass fuck. Oh, did I mention that I waste time playing videogames? I have all this responsibility, I'm 67 fucking years old and I waste time playing videogames, because that's really going to get the job done and get all these people off my back. Did I mention I'm a lazy fatass fuck?
Overrated Authors
Hey /lit/, who is the most overrated author who still gets lauded in literary circles?
For my money, toss-up between Henry James and Raymond Carver. What's your vote?
nb4 John Green/Stephen King we already know they're overrated.
pic semi-related
Tea Party
Welcome to the first official crossboard tea party, you uneducated plebs!
Make yourself at home, take a cup of tea and talk about the great classics of literature and Ready Player One. We all hope you enjoy your stay on /lit/.
Is it cringeworthy for a woman to tell a man who saved her life and her daughter's life that he's "a good man" then kissing and fucking him right after? Does it smack too much of "nice guy" self-insert fantasy? Cause I wrote it and looked at it and cringed. I'm not a fedora dude at all but it really reads like "lol if you do nice things for women they'll fuck you" bullshit.
There's even decent chemistry between these two characters. I just can't write this part without cringing.
Help.
What are you working on?
A /lit/ board without a writing thread is worse than useless. Aspirant authors, tell me of your work.
I'm working on a fantasy novel from the perspective of a history nerd. I was tired of reading
A) derivative Tolkien fantasy and
B) stories that take place in a land completely foreign from Earth but that still has motherfuckers named John
So I figured, if I can't find the book that meets my expectations, I should buck up and write it myself. So now I have the continent, the cosmology, and the culture of the ethnic groups, and am currently working on building a history for it all–fallen powers, group migrations, linguistic relationships, etc. It's been a lot of fun. What have you been working on?
Common Tropes?
>trilogy
>1st entry has well-written protagonist and unique plot with an ending that is somewhat open for a sequel
>2nd entry has a distinctly different protagonist, but still decently written. Protagonist is somehow related to original protagonist through blood or story events; plot is decently written, ending is a cliffhanger
>3rd entry is inevitable team up of the protagonists from both prior entries with a plot straight out of Hollywood C-tier action film
Fascist reading
I've been very interested in fascism lately and want to learn more about it. What are the best and most important books about it?
This isn't a thread for discussing politics, just give me some books (preferably not jew propaganda)
Robert Pickton - In His Own Words
This was briefly available on Amazon earlier this year – has anyone found a copy out there in the wild?
The Thing
Currently trying to debunk my teacher. He says that:
1. The novel the "The Thing is based on" also called "the thing" has a very awkward part in it
2. that there was a female in the crew and that there were also a couple of younger boys that are virgins(important)
3. That the Thing fed on innocence of any kind
4. The female crew member took away the virginity of all the younger boys so the Thing wouldn't hunt them.
I'm having the most difficult time finding this to the point that I don't think it's true
Post some good books on American politics for a beginner
A Screenwriter's Approach to Fiction?
Help me out, /lit/. I could stand to bounce this off of someone.
When I was young, I read a lot and wrote a lot. There wasn't a moment of my time that wasn't spent between the covers of a book. In high school my teachers would go on and on about my writing, and how I was the best in my graduating class. I was proud of my writing, but as life got busy it became harder to find the time.
My problem is that it's been four years since I've read a book, and my writing is rusty as a result. Not only that, but years of studying screenplay has left a mark upon my own style: My writing has changed from a flowing, poetic read to something much more Spartan in approach. Extraneous details are stripped out, with the focus on less being more. And the verbal flow of the reading takes priority above all else.
The thing is… I somewhat enjoy this new style. Sure, it's strange having to remind myself to get inside my character's heads. It's also a bit difficult to re-inject the other senses that a visually-oriented medium like screenwriting requires to be omitted, and relearning varied transitions and starts to sentences has got me feeling a bit stupid, but I'm finding there's real value in the teachings of my screenwriting professor. The style works great for short stories, when concepts like conservation of page space and more subtle language to express ideas between the lines all take priority.
So my problem is this: Does a style like this sound viable to you? And do you know of any writers to recommend who value that approach of "less is more"?
Bildungsroman
Wieland's History of Agathon is referenced by Goethe and predates his Wilhelm Meister by thirty years, yet the only English copy I've found is this fragment (Part 4):
https://archive.org/details/historyagathonb00wielgoog
Anyone familiar with the genre, preferably older representations?
Critique my work
he darkness of night blankets a monochromatic metropolis. Its architecture is abstract and modern. And its atmosphere is empty and cold.
The roads are barren, and street lights turn on and off in cycling effect. Alleyways are filled with transients, minds consumed by synthetic psychostimulants.
Highrise complexes are packed with worker drones that run on a fuel mix of left wing philosophy, and genetically modified food.
Concrete buildings stretch as far as the eye can see.
Welcome to hell.
Wanted by the federal police for thought crimes, you have been forced into hiding in a rundown apartment complex in the worst section of the metropolis.
Booming ghetto music shakes flaking paint from your dilapidated apartment walls and keeps you awake, while gunshots and blood curdling screams fill you with fear.
Lost in paranoia, you peer out your window into nothingness like a schizophrenic.
Hours pass. Nothing happens Eventually hunger pains drive you to the convenience store located on the ground floor of the complex, where you purchase a cheap, nasty meal.
You hurry back to your room as quickly as possible, darting through musty halls inhabited by scruffy criminals and rotting drug addicts.
You make it back. Once inside, you take a seat and question your entire life. What you could have done differently?
Suddenly you are interrupted. Someone is knocking loudly on your door. You freeze, careful not to utter a sound.
They knock again. You tiptoe to the door, and slowly bring your eye to the peephole. You see the federal police, and they're dressed in tactical assault uniform, brandishing automatic rifles.
They demand you open the door.
Your heart is beating like a drum, and your body is pumping adrenaline. You remain silent.
Each second that passes feels like a minute. You can't escape. You're trapped like a sick dog, and vivid images of suicide flash in your mind.
Suddenly, they walk away from your door, and move down the hall, past the boarded up doors of vacant rooms to the staircase that leads to the upper floor.
They're conducting a search of the building.
Now is the time to leave. You grab your personal items, open your door, sneak to the elevator, and press the button to go down. The elevator door creaks opens, and you're greeted by the smell of old piss and alcohol. You press the button for the ground floor, the door creaks shut, and the descent begins.
At the ground floor, you venture cautiously towards the building's entrance, on the look out for police. You safely reach the entrance, and step out into the chilling night, inhaling the polluted air deep into your lungs.
Police sirens play a distant tune as a homeless prostitute high on codeine and krokodil stumbles past with a vacant look.
You hook right and run south, deeper into the putrid bowels of the concrete jungle.
Greetings /lit, I come to you with some questions regarding writing.
How does this system work for unpublished/first time authors? I'm close to finishing my first draft of a story (handwritten) and want to know how I get it published?
Whats the format for typed work? Let's say I was to use Microsoft Word, is there a format or guideline I can follow?
I feel like there's certain red flags publishers look for and I don't want to look amateurish.
So, tl;dr:
>how do you submit your work to publishers?
>is there a guideline or format I should follow, like font style, size etc
>besides bad grammar and punctuation, what other mistakes do these people look for?
I haven't seen a lot of information about this anywhere online. Should I just contact the publisher and ask or email smaller known authors and ask them?
Thanks!
I remember some anon asking for JSTOR
So I got some news for you! This website torrents research papers from a bunch of different places and also uploads them to libgen if not there.
Have fun!
hypersphere, by 4chan/lit/
Hypersphere, written by Anonymous with the help of the 4chan board /lit/ (of The Legacy of Totalitarianism in a Tundra fame) is an epic tale spanning over 700 pages.
A postmodern collaborative writing effort containing royalty, Žižek erotica, poetry, repair instructions for future cars, a history of bottles in the Ottoman empire; actually, it contains everything since it takes place in the Hypersphere, and the Hypersphere is a big place; really big in fact.
Paperback, First Edition, 720 pages
Published December 23rd 2015 by Anonymous
>1image per post
wry
Questions about a new story
Made a previous thread regarding a story I have been working on, but I removed it because the way I presented it was half-assed.
I am a few chapters in. The simplest summary is that VR system allows you to plug in your consciousness, allowing you to get the closest experience to reality in games.
Players log in, things go awry when the game gets hacked, and now everyone who was logged in gets stuck in the game. Now they have to get used to living in this virtual world until someone figures how to escape.
This concept is nothing new. There have been plenty of stories that have done something like this. Log Horizon, .Hack, Sword Art Online, No Game No Life, etc.
So what I am wondering is if this idea is worth writing about? Would it be enjoyable? Or is this just cringe worthy and I am autistic?
Feel free to share your thoughts.
Is Hiring an Editor Worth It?
Can't you just let someone read and exhaustively comment about your work like pic related for free? I already have someone who will do this portion for me but I still question their competence since I haven't submitted my works to them.
What are your experiences on hiring an editor? Did copy, content, and developmental edit benefit your book? How?
The rates of the ones I've seen are not within my budget.
Any SAT-level free latin learning resources?
i know of one that isnt free, but the company has a course on greek that i would prefer to buy (i can only afford 1 of the two) because there are so many more things i want to read in greek (homer, aristotle, the bible) than i do latin.
so please inform me of any free latin resources, or convince me why i should buy the latin course over the greek one. i hate writing shit that way because i have no control over you, but i couldnt think of a better way to say it.
Do your best lit
/lit/ may I introduce my friends main character "flare" from her "guardian angels" story. he has the following:
- murr tragic backstory
- generic killer personality
- has no weakness
-a full on mary sue
- has embodied emotions so shes ripping off inside out
- has generic of the most generic demon guy inside him as well.
ans she wants this to become a Manga -_-
Pinecone 00000
Pinecone Issue 00000:
NotPynchon & He Rapes His Sister Phoebe compiled as interviews.
>What is this?
Pinecone Magazine is the /lit/ magazine that publishes when there is actual content worth anyone's time.
>How can I submit?
There are two ways to submit. AtticusPinecone@gmail or you can use the submissions form on the website.
>What's accepted?
Solid gold unpublished poetry, prose, erotica, letters, literary analysis, anything intelligent or funny. You won't be reading any shit, don't worry. If only 2 things worth reading is submitted, 2 things will be in the issue.
>Is this the first literary journal from /lit/?
There was The April Reader & there is Ideology. But this is already head & shoulders above them.
>These things always fail.
Have a look first. For what it's worth, this first issue is good & it's nice looking. That might be b/c there is no poetry/prose & b/c I have actual magazine experience. 00000 is just NotPynchon & The Catch Her analysis, and both are very interesting.
Here it is:
/lit/ infographics
I've a hankering for some reading, and I know I could ask for some general advice as to what to read.
On the other hand, I thought I'd lend a hand to anyone else searching for something to read as well.
So, you've got them?
Post your infographics.
Tropes in the bible
Chekhov's gun:
Checkhov's gun means not wasting details. You don't mention the tree unless you're to use it later in the story. When God warns them not to eat of the tree, its a form of foreshadowing.
What other tropes can you think of?
Shitty Literature
Anna Karenina.
This is easily the worst book that I've ever read. After reading a A Hero of Our Time, I was quite certain that Russian literature would be amazing. And while the books I've read have had their ups and downs, this is by far the worst of them all.
The characters are bland and uninteresting. There is virtually no development, and most importantly, there is no major protagonist to follow. This would work well, if it were executed in a matter such that there were multiple perspectives. But instead, we simply spread it all out thin. Levin might have been alright if he wasn't a complete idiot. Anna might have been alright if she wasn't a emotional wreck. But no, they're both what they are, and neither are interesting to follow.
This novel is considered a fucking masterpiece, and yet even a book about a beetle eating through a tree would be less boring than this piece of shit. Worst of all, unlike most other shit novels which have the courtesy to be short, this book drags on and on, sucking away time and energy.
Tolstoy hated fucking trains, but you know what? I love them now. Because a train is what ended this fucking novel. That train is the real, unsung hero of this story. It's a shame he only shows up a few times.
What novels have pissed you off? Double bonus points if they're considered "masterpieces" by fools.
I feel kind of dumb for asking this, but does anyone have tips for reading Inferno? I'm only a couple of pages in but a barely understand what is going on.
Hello my fellow bibliophiles.
I am not very computer savvy, but I really love listening to audiobooks while I'm in the car or just doing things throughout my day. Do any of you know a good website that I can download audiobooks for free from?
I already know about librivox.org. Sometimes I just can't stand the voice of the people reading it. What I really want is to be able to download all the classics so I can finally "read" them all.
Any links would be very appreciated.
>tl;dr OP is illiterate and poor.
What did you guys think?
Fanfiction fail
Post the worst cringe-worthy writing you've ever read.
> circumcised "authors"
Finnegans Wake
I want to tackle the big one.
What sources should I use to navigate my way through this obscurity?
Why Neil deGrasse Tyson is a philistine
https://theweek.com/articles/447197/why-neil-degrasse-tyson-philistine
>He proudly proclaims his irritation with "asking deep questions" that lead to a "pointless delay in your progress" in tackling "this whole big world of unknowns out there." When a scientist encounters someone inclined to think philosophically, his response should be to say, "I'm moving on, I'm leaving you behind, and you can't even cross the street because you're distracted by deep questions you've asked of yourself. I don't have time for that."
>With these words, Tyson shows he's very much a 21st-century American, living in a perpetual state of irritated impatience and anxious agitation. Don't waste your time with philosophy! (And, one presumes, literature, history, the arts, or religion.) Only science will get you where you want to go! It gets results! Go for it! Hurry up! Don't be left behind! Progress awaits!
fucking scientism lel
>friend wants to write book
>sends first draft
>has the writing skills of a third grader
jesus christ
The Divine Comedy
I've been reading through Dante's Commedia, and I'm just blown away at how intricate this poem is.
Canto 26 was just absolutely beautiful. If you haven't read it yet, /lit/, you really should. It's so engaging and there's so much you can get out of it. It's almost more fun to read it while taking notes on it.
I love how Canto 26 parallels Ulysses/Odysseus with Dante, how the mountain he runs up on represents Mount Purgatorio, and how the tone of the canto completely shifts, marking an innate change in Dante's nature and self awareness.
Post the best writing you've ever read.
But at the same time I seemed to hear more than a teacher's switch as it came down upon a pupil's body. Sounds more serious and more strange intruded upon the hush of the classroom. They were faraway sounds lost in the hissing of rainy afternoon: great blades sweeping over great distances, expansive wings cutting through cold winds, long whips lashing in darkness. I heard other sounds, too, other things that were stinging the air in other places, sounds of things I heard but never give explanation. These sounds grew increasingly louder. Finally, Miss Plarr dropped her pointer and put her hands over her ears.
Miss Plarr, Thomas Ligotti
Homestuck
Not exactly a book, but I'll give it a go.
A former friend recommended this. Now I'm skeptical, because she tends to like and dislike fiction for the wrong reason. For example, she didn't like the first episode of Marvel's Daredevil because the women wasn't traumatized enough, and she liked The King's Men because it had a good female lead it didn't.
Research Thread
Post random knowledge you acquired while researching for your works. We all have our areas of expertise; those don't count. Bonus points if you can guess what someone else is writing, based on his research.
I'll start:
>Cluster-headaches are linked to the hypothalamus, and they are among the worst pains known to mankind, feeling like someone is pushing white-glowing iron into your eye
>Damage to the supramarginal gyrus in the temporal lobe can cause Gerstmann-syndrome, meaning that you can't read, calculate, count, or even into left and right
Pic unrelated, it's from my old info-folder.
Dealing with inspiration
I have never written seriously in my life before. I did write some fanfiction, but it was hardly refined. Then, a while ago, I actually began writing down that large story I've been creating since I was a dumb, horny teenager with power fantasies [Spoiler]I played Chaos Space Marines btw[/spoiler]. Those were scenes at first, with some gems in them, but the lack of context did hurt them.
Then, last week, I began writing it down coherently, starting somewhere in the beginning of the thing. I'm at 16000 words already, and I show no signs of slowing down. This is kind of bothering me: My flow does keep me from actually reading shit or going to the gym. I'm just looking forward to writing more.
How do you handle that? Do you just give in to the flow, or do you try to restrain it? And if so, how?
Why does /lit/ hate TvTropes?
The darkness of night blankets a grim and monochromatic metropolis. Its polished, rigid geometric urban layout a bureaucratic attempt at hiding the crime and disease lurking beneath its surface. The atmosphere is empty and cold.
The streets are lifeless. Its Lights turn on and off in cycling effect. Alleyways are ominous, filled with transients, minds consumed by nihilism, psychosis and synthetic psychostimulants. Death is waiting around the corner.
Highrise apartment complexes are filled with worker drone Cro Magnons, running on a fuel mix of left wing philosophy, neurostimulants, and cheap, genetically modified food.
Wanted by federal police for thought crimes, you have been forced into hiding. You are in one of the apartment complexes, located in the worst section of the metropolis. Booming electronic ghetto music shakes flaking paint from your rundown apartment walls during the day, while gunshots and blood curdling screams keep your from sleep at night.
/lit/ Library
Can we have a booksharing thread? Upload some books you think are interesting/entertaining that aren't easily available.
I collect old gamebooks from the '80s and '90s (think Choose Your Own Adventure). Unfortunately typical digitization doesn't do much for them, since you can't conveniently flip through a PDF when you make a choice. A lot of these books will never be republished, so I want to start making them playable in an electronic format. I'm going to try to put as many of them as I can in HTML so they're readable in web browsers, then format them properly for the Kindle so they can be read on e-readers. With the illustrated books I'm also scanning all their artwork and integrating it with the text. There's a lot of great art hidden in old dusty paperbacks.
The first book I've finished isn't illustrated, but it's still fun to play on the toilet. I'm sure a lot of you remember Goosebumps; this was part of a gamebook series under the same brand. The first in the series is called Escape from the Carnival of Horrors.
http://www103.zippyshare.com/v/qf82WlfX/file.html (.MOBI + .HTML formats)
I also wanted to share a fantastic writing book that has helped me a lot called Immediate Fiction. It's my bible. If any of you ever get stuck on a story and can't diagnose where you went wrong, this is the book for you.
http://www51.zippyshare.com/v/zEQQ6b8e/file.html (.PDF)
Share your goods, give a brief description.
Historical Literature
Penguin, oxford classics, or classics club?
I may have been living under a rock because I've never heard of before or seen this book in my life. What book is this?!
I'm about a fifth into this. Will it become good later on?
Is it good /lit/?
Tolkein
Would you recommend reading The Lord of the Rings?
Repairing antiquarian books
I have two 19th century books with partially damaged spines that I would like some advice on.
The first one has a leather binding and a piece of the spine has fallen off. I still have the chip of leather (it may not be easy to see, but I have placed the loose piece next to the empty spot in the photo), and I would like to know whether it's a good idea to simply glue it back in place. It was only the outer part of it that fell off, so it wouldn't be attaching the spine to the pages or anything. If it should be glued back, what is the best type of glue to use for it? Would simple Elmer's glue be best, or would it be better to use superglue?
Also, the leather seems to be very dry on that book and is cracking along the front and back creases of the spine, so it needs to be oiled. I have different types of mink oil for my leather shoes, so would that work on a leather book binding?
The second book is a cloth bound one that has part of the upper spine partially torn. In this case, part of the paper beneath the spine's binding is also damaged. It looks like I could glue it between the paper below that is intact and the cloth at the top of the spine.
I normally wouldn't ask for help on this, but I'd like to be especially careful due to the age of the books.
Mediocre books thread
I'm planning on writing something in the near future as a side project, but I don't really know the ins and outs of literature since I don't do much reading nowadays. I'm making a list of well written books to read so I can develop some writing skills. What are some mediocre books that I can read to see what pitfalls or derivative conventions I should avoid?
Humble Books Bundle
The fucks who usually put out bundles of DRM-Free games are also doing a bundle for a bunch of Sci-Fi related stuff.
Thoughts?
umberto eco died. thoughts?
Hey /lit/, I need your advise.
I want to make a present for a friend, and I was thinking about a book.
The thing is, the friend of mine went through a painful break up some time ago, and he seems to be struggling to close that wound, and I wanted to give him a book that coud help him to deal with his feelings.
My friend is not really a bookworm, he doesnt read a lot, and I thought it could be a good opportunity to try to make him read more, so a light book would be better.
Also, general Reccomendation thread.
Read/Expected/Got thread
The year is about to end, let's have one of these!
Books about Napoleon
Any recommendations on good books about Napoleon? I've been meaning to pick up pic related for a while, would love if someone happened to have a pdf version and save me 20 bucks.
What is your favorite source of historical racism in literature?
Why does /lit/ eat derrida's asshole?
If someone wants to write fantasy (especially high magic fantasy), other than Tolkien and Moorcock, what books and authors should one read first?
Is this still relevant?
So what's your opinion on the Beats? Favorite work? Favorite Beat? Or do you believe Capote was accurate in describing them with the following quote: "That's not writing, that's typing."
I'd have to say Kerouac is my favorite author of the group, but Naked Lunch by Burroughs is probably my favorite novel. Planning on rereading their stuff. I first read On the Road when I was 13, and it certainly left an impression. So that's where I'll be starting. I'm pretty much wondering if I'll feel anything now that I'm considerably older and more experienced in both lit and life. While I don't think they were these amazing, unparalleled writers, I do think their writing is very inspirational and full of life. Can't stand Ginsberg, though.
T.H.White's The Book of Merlin (Or at least the version within The Once and Future King) can eat shit out of my asshole for all I care. It's a glorified argument for his personal position that completely relies on the rules of his Arthurian universe to succeed. If you're going to go through the trouble of imagining an alternate world where animals are completely based and humans are fucking garbo, of course humans are going to be garbo. But what the fuck is that supposed to mean to me in the real world? You know, the one where I'm smart enough to disseminate this bullshit, but a hedgehog is dumb enough to eat shit, spit it out, and rub it on itself for no apparent reason? I just watched a dog eat grass, puke it up, and then eat some more grass. Please tell me how much more of an intelligent and politically minded organism this stupid mutt is than Socrates or Aristotle. Or will you just change the goalposts again and say that since he evolved to act like a fucking downey, he's automatically a superior organism to us since he's better at it than we are at theoretical particle physics?
Fuck me, I wish I started with Morte d'Arthur.
8chan makes a movie
8chan makes a movie
We're working on script ideas right now. Come by and help out if you're interested. >>>/edwood/
How do you stay focused when working on your book?
I can never find the motivation.
Best LOTR audiobook narrator?
I remember listening to TTT about a decade ago and loved the voice the guy had, very chill.
Idea: create a blog to post snippets of autobiographical shit so I can practice writing without wasting perfectly good Storylines.
Upside: I have an opportunity to write and present an actual story a regular guy becoming a writer.
Downside: it probably counts as self Doxxing if it takes off.
Thoughts?
Does anyone have experience with tracking down obscure or out-of-print books?
I'm looking for three translated editions of books that have basically disappeared down the Anglosphere memory-hole.
http://www.amazon.com/Heliopolis-Ernst-Junger/dp/0533073707/
http://www.amazon.com/Worker-Maxima-Minima-Additional-Contemporary-Continental/dp/0791404099/
http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Diaries-1941-1944-Ernst-Junger/dp/0374229880/
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Paris-Diaries-Volumes-II/dp/0231127405/
Gods & Pantheons
I have a great interest in religion and spirituality, and I love it when fantasy writers, science fiction writers, or any worldbuilding project includes a god or a pantheon of gods in the project. I like seeing what authors do with the concept of a god and the way they interact with the world. Fictional religions which in canon turn out to be incorrect are also quite interesting, showing how the residents of fictional worlds can form religions of their own.
What are your favorite gods, mythologies, and pantheons in fiction? One of my personal favorites and a very popular one is the Lovecraft pantheon, which has influenced some of my own worldbuilding projects.
Romance
What are some good books that focuses on the romantic relationship between a man and a woman?
flowers for algernon
Am I the only one who doesn't think this book had a sad ending? Remember reading it when I was 15, then a few months later had to read it again for class. Shitloads of girls cried over the ending, everyone thought it was a depressing book, but it's my favorite book. Don't care if it's pleb-tier, the first quarter of it is just plain fun to read in my opinion, and it spoke to me and shit.
Anyway, it was only after the third time I read it, that I felt like I really understood it; the book doesn't end sadly, that's why it doesn't end with Charlie's death. He is quite literally a happier person when retarded. The entire point of the book is that intellect isn't everything, and everyone who thinks it's a sad ending must not have understood it.
Am I right? Am I wrong? What do you think?
Anthropomorphic Animals
Are there any good books with furries in them?
Not fucking bambi or some shit like that.
I'm just curious.
Contact
>muh circles
>main character is an entitled useless bitch, whines constantly about the president's science advisor dude she's fucking.
>her father is LITERALLY a cuck
>a nigerian man is somehow the most important physicist on the planet, he is also in his 30s and every woman finds him attractive
>carl sagans's idea of the future was awkward and schlocky
>hadden is a dipshit, flies off out of the solar system and freezes himself, will probably fly into a sun.
>first contact is just some fucking personal jesus bullshit, at least the aliens were kind enough to tell about sum circle in pi
>count how many times vaygay is said in this book
it was fairly well written overall but yeah there are stupid things
Is there such a thing as a "bad publisher rut?"
It needs a better name, sure, but I'm certain this must exist. Take a writer like Dean Koontz, not everything he writes is good. A lot of his work is "'very good'" but some of it is unreadable to me.
Strange Highways was a masterpiece for the guy. False Memories was even better.
But then there are books like Odd Thomas mediocre and The Face Unreadable that make me wonder why they were published at all.
Contrast that with a few writers from low level publishers that don't have the same push as Penguin Random House, Bantam, Hachette Book Corp etc. who've written things just as good as the majority of his books.
Is it possible that choosing a publisher is more important to success as a writer than its given credit for?
Pretentious, stuffy authors
Why do English teachers suck Ray Bradbury's dick for being pretentious? I've decided I hate English teachers for being pseudo-intellectuals like this.
http://www.laweekly.com/news/ray-bradbury-fahrenheit-451-misinterpreted-2149125
Bernie Sanders has excellent taste in /lit/erature
Is there a relationship between a work's acceptance or rejection of genre conventions and how good it is?
/lit/'s future
(This was posted earlier in the Next board by the BV at my behest. I am posting it here as well.)
The TL;DR version of this is simple: What do we do?
Board volunteer for /lit/ here.
Good morning.
Let me start by saying the opinions of the board staff are somewhat divided on how to react to 8chan's situation. Originally, the board owner was consistently supportive of the migration to Infinity Next. She wasn't interested in hearing about any alternatives. Events of the last twenty four hours have changed that, she is now taking a neutral position which can be summed up as: "whatever works."
I, the board volunteer, was also in favor of the migration, although I approached it with a wary eye. I will also admit I'm not the patient type. I've been snarky about it, at least on occasion. With all the problems and downtime piling up over the last few months I became more interested in finding alternative solutions instead sticking it out and waiting to see.
Three things we agree on.
1. We are both tired of chasing down and compiling information shotgunned across far too many boards and blogs to stay abreast of 8chan's current status and plans for the future.
2. We are done with the time wasting process of watching our questions (in particular, one simple support request) go unanswered.
3. We are fed up with trying to maintain a duplicate presence across two broken venues.
Josh has, finally, provided sufficient feedback, and at least a rough idea how 8chan will proceed. As I'm the one pushing Endchan here on /lit/ the BO asked that I write a response for both of us.
I'll continue in the next post with commentary on Josh's Guide to Infinite Fun.
Are there any good books involving space pirates?
NOVELS FOR PRO-WHITE TRADITIONALISTS
What do you think is the most pro-white and traditionalist novel in existence?
Where is our magnum opus? Where's our "Atlas Shrugged" which celebrates our distinct people and our values and our ideal hero in modern times?
I know there are great non-fiction books such as March of the Titans by Arthur Kemp, but what about in the realm of literary fiction (and specifically novels)?
I also know that there's many great classics such as the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Edda and so on. But what about modern novels? Has there been any significant work in contemporary fiction which resonates with pro-white Euroepan and traditionalist sentiments?
What do you recommend?
Target Demographic
So, I'm writing a story and I don't know wtf is my target demographic (MG, YA, or Upper MG). The initial scenes consist of kids of less than eight-year-olds with a not so graphic violence/gory scene; the ending scene will consist of them as teenagers and each of the character have different mentalities after the ending scene/climax. Some will have a YA mentality, some will retain an MG mentality.
I'm thinking I should put this on MG since the violence is not too graphic anyways. What are your thoughts?
Ok /lit/ I'm looking for a book to spook me. Thinking about Lovecraft but if I go with him then what book edition do I go with?
Fathers and Sons/
Opinions?
General Discussion
Paradox and juxtaposition
English fun thread: Dark + light.
a nobel prize for literature wrote this
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleuth_(2007_film)
am i a pleb and i'm missing the greatness of it?
Does anyone have that huge archive of books about occultism and magick that was uploaded by some guy on 4chan's /lit/?
i liked this book.
what you think of it?
What are some great, classic books for people with subpar reading comprehension skills?
I'm looking for novels similar to "The Stranger" or "Things Fall Apart" that are written in very simple English.
I'm usually the kind of neckbeard that reads stuff like the Forgotten Realms.
Mainly because most Asimovian polemics is usually too soft for me to get into it, Star Trek and Star Wars is absolutely mind numbing. My brain shuts down and I go full 360 degrees into fantasy to give my sense of willing suspension of disbelief a bit of a break. At least fantasy settings aren't claiming to talk about science… anyone else feel like this?
ANYWAY
The few Asimovian polemics series that worked for me were Lost Fleet, Dread Empire's Fall, and Old Man's War because they describe tactics, weapons or technologies in believable ways.
So my question is: can some more experienced readers suggest to me some similar semi-hard Asimovian polemics series to read in my spare time?
Reminder that we have moved over to the beta board.
Of course, if the beta is down, or Infinity Next just isn't doing it for you, you should visit us at Endchan.
If this place goes down our temporary backup is here:
Note that you must accept their self-signed security certificate to use the site. Plain old HTTP also works if you laugh at the dangers of browsing in the clearnet.
Luv an hugs,
~ BV & BO of /lit/
J.K. Rowling btfo
How do you actually go about "reading" fiction literature? I only read non-fic because I can clearly tell what the facts being presented are but I lack an artistic mind and whenever I try to read fiction I fail miserably because I can't detect or put together the deeper "meaning" or themes or anything. Fiction for me doesn't have any eureka to it, it's just there. The characters did their actions and things happened, and it's just there. Did I just not cultivate my artistic senses when I should and I'm left deficient forever?
So I want some rec's for books like Fahrenheit 451& Aku No Hana(technically not a 'book' but fuck it). Both of these books have the same feel of abandonment with social norms and life. Really anything that goes against things like acceptability government, parenting, schooling, ect. Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place. (pic unrelated)
Malazan Book of the Fallen Thread
Has anyone read the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson? I am on book 5 of 10 (of the main series, haven't gotten to side stories yet) and really, really, enjoy it. I have yet to meet anyone who has actually read them though.
book finding thread
If you've forgotten the name of a book you read, post a description here and hopefully someone will recognize it and tell you the name.I'm looking for a book about a girl who becomes the first/only female wizard. I don't remember much of what happens in the book, but the way magic works is that wizards' magic is powered by the lifeforce of a person who starts to die after the wizard begins using them, and witch magic comes from the witch's own life. Also I remember that at the start the girl is a prostitute and she becomes the apprentice of some old wizard. inb4 equal rites
Cyberpunk Thread
Just finished the Sprawl series, got a craving for more. Anything match Gibson? I'll probably read Snow Crash next, before moving on to Otherland-anyone know where I can find digital copies?
Wrong Book Edition
>order copy of Bulgakov's 'The Flight' (Бeг) from Amazon as my only present for Christmas
>it arrives today
>excited to read it, I open it
>the whole thing is in Cyrillic, and in Russian, and the only English is in the editor's preface and the notes
>too autistic to send it back because parents will scold me for being careless and stupid, so just going to stuff it in my book-case and never touch it again
8chan migration to Next status:
We are now here:
Note that you must accept their self-signed security certificate to use the site. Plain old HTTP also works if you laugh at the dangers of browsing in the clearnet.
Let's talk about fantasy ITT. Reviews/recommendations, what you've read last, fanboying/hate for the famous authors, bring it all in here.
I just finished the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I think it gets a lot of bad press that is undeserved. It's a wonderful fucking fantasy epic. Yes, it has its flaws–the descriptions of scenes can get a little repetitive, and the series spends a little too long going on about interactions and personalities of characters changing, but that doesn't come close to ruining the series like the critics claim. Overall, the plot is good, and the background is very fucking solid–the history is fantastical but believable, the interactions between the nations and cultures are spot fucking on, and especially the magic system is perfect–it has rules and is explained fully near the beginning of the story, even how the magic artifacts work, so it's not just an excuse for characters to win due to the goodness of their cause or sheer willpower or some bullshit like that.
Just don't read it if you're in a goddamn hurry. It's a long, leisurely read. Many people say they skipped through to find out what happened, that's not the fucking point. If you don't like long, detailed reads it's not for you. Relax, put on the audiobook while you play some terraria or something… and make that your main source of entertainment for the next half a year or so, that's what happened to me.
I feel a little lost without another WoT book to keep reading. Help me out here. Yes, I've already read Lord of the Rings and ASOIAF, and enjoyed both.
Question for Writers
A pretty simple question: how can you tell if your writing is good or not?
Asking other people hasn't been very helpful for me. I've sent some of my stories to friends, but they never read them. The only person who I ever hear back from regarding my stories is my dad, who is obviously biased.
The closest I've come to being able to objectively analyze the quality of my writing is to wait until I start to forget what I wrote and then reread it, but that takes months to happen, and even then I'm still biased.
So how do you do it, /lit/?
Pic unrelated.
A Christmas Carol Discussion
So I know its not Wednesday anymore (at least where I am), but I figure its time to start up the discussion. So, for anyone that read it (or wants to spend an hour reading it), what did you think? What did you like? Dislike? If you hadn't read it before, how did it match up with your expectations? If you had read it before, did you notice anything new this time? Do you prefer Scrooge to the Grinch? Do you think Die Hard is a better Christmas story? Can you tell that I'm running out of relevant questions?
Hey, /lit/, here's a question: can the term "ostensible statements" be used to describe postulates?
Ostensible: stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so
Postulate: a thing suggested or assumed as true as the basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief; b) an assumption used as a basis for mathematical reasoning.
I'm using it to refer to definition (b) of postulate.
/lit/ humor thread
Don't be a pleb. This board has some painful instances of reddit-tier taste so far.
post-modern short stories
can you guys recommend me some good posmo short stories?
/lit/ reading group
Sup lit,
So I was thinking it might be fun to do something like a reading group here. I know halfchan lit has done something like this a couple of times, and I thought it might be cool to do something like that on here. If nothing else, it would be nice to have one or two books that a bunch of us had read recently to have some common ground for discussion. Anyway, I had been thinking about reading pic related since its December, and thought that it might be fun to read as a reading group sort of book, particularly because its short and fun.
If you have comment/suggestions, let me know, and if you think it would be fun to join in, I was thinking of reading it over the course of next week (December 7-13)
So I was reading some stuff on writing and what it means to actually be a good writer, and came across this by Stephen King;
"Writers form themselves into the pyramid we see in all areas of human talent and human creativity.
At the bottom are the bad ones. Above them is a group which is slightly smaller but still large and welcoming; these are the competent writers. They may also be found on the staff of your local newspaper, on the racks at your local bookstore, and at 141 poetry readings on Open Mike Night. These are folks who
somehow understand that although a lesbian may be angry, her breasts will remain breasts.
The next level is much smaller. These are the really good writers. Above them—above almost all of us—are the Shakespeares, the Faulkners, the Yeatses, Shaws, and Eudora
Weltys. They are geniuses, divine accidents, gifted in a way which is beyond our ability to understand, let alone attain. Shit, most geniuses aren’t able to understand themselves, and many of them lead miserable lives, realizing (at least on some level) that they are nothing but fortunate freaks, the
intellectual version of runway models who just happen to be born with the right cheekbones and with breasts which fit the image of an age."
He later explains that this is the natural order of writing, and that bad writers will always be bad writers. Competent writers can become good, but good will never become great.
Do you agree, /lit/? What does being a good writer mean to you?
Good resources for writers
What does /lit/ think about this site? I used to love it, then I hated it for its community, now I respect it for how it handled the GamerGate-affair, namely by describing all the different narratives and then leaving it at that.
I think it's to fiction what fedoratheism is to philosophy: A decent way to get you started and thinking, but if you don't outgrow it, you're an idiot. It is a decent source for quick information and can help you get critical of different cliches and ways of doing them right, for once.
I can say that my ideas got a whole lot better once I stopped thinking in terms of tropes, though. While I was actively browsing TVTropes, I though that variety, savviness and originality were the mark of good writing. What I lost track of was the bigger picture of a work. Having a good overarching theme, with characters that symbolize certain aspects of it, beats having ninjas fight against viking orcs, even if the ninjas have a warrior princess that also likes pink dresses (le subverted trope lol).
L'Etranger
So I have just read The Stranger for the Second time.
When I first read it I found it groundbreaking. It has been approximately three years since I read it.
I have just read it for the second time and found it revolting.
For example the novel is inherently colonial, yet this issue is never addressed, so as to give an air of superiority to the un-historically minded reader.
When I read it the first time the colonialism was not apparent to me and added to the absurdism. I have noticed often when you lack and understanding of geopolitical situations and you dont understand the concept of 'race' yourself , it can be used to give 'absurdism' to a text.
For example 'The Kite Runner' is a great example of this. Few people have the understanding of the geopoltical considerations of the area, so the various races and tensions between them can give absurdism and intrigue. When you learn about Pashtuns and Hazaras it is interesting, because in real life you never hear people talk so openly about races.
When you understand the historical geopolitics in the book it becomes a lot less interesting in my opinion. This is the same as the Kite Runner
The French empire did nothing wrong. Meursault did nothing wrong. He shouldnt have put his mom in a home.
Debt
Just got finished with the 3rd chapter. I'm really enjoying it. His view from an anthropologist's perpective is i think what's got me liking it so much thus far. What do you think /lit/? Am i in for a good read?
Jekyll and Hyde
What could have been one of the greatest evil and good introspection books is left into a shitty horror monster flick for cheap entertainment purposes.
Evil and good(degenerate and quality, punishment of degenerates in the name of quality, thus becoming "evil" to kill evil doers.)
Why must everything be so disappointing.
Books with unreliable narrators.
Suggest books with unreliable narrators.
Hey boys there should be the /lit/ recommends wiki here and stuff as well as download repositories like what they've got on /fringe/ except for good literature does that sound like a good idea?
I'm kind of interested in those erotic fantasy novels people always talk derisively about where people have sex with dragons and stuff. My friend is I mean, it's for a friend. K-know any good ones…? For my friend.
Science Books General
Texts and informational books focus.
Less formal books are welcome!
My friends and I got in a conversation about dragons and we both remembered a singing dragon, but we couldn't remember what it was from. We're both pretty certain it was a bad fantasy but had some interesting parts.
Pedophile Liberation Now
So, /lit/?
https://philiaresearch.wordpress.com/2015/02/09/minor-attracted-figures-in-history/
>>inb4 "SAUCE!!!"
Google is your friend. The majority of these people admitted to being minor-attracted. For others, it's self-evident in their works.
Shakespeare wrote sonnets to an 11-year-old boy. Oscar Wilde refers to this during his trial.
Michelangelo had sexual and romantic relationships with boys, and dedicated his art to their beauty.
Da Vinci had a homeless little boy live with him for many years. Historians speculate they were lovers (this boy was one of many).
capital
It's incredibly difficult to get through this book. I might just have a short attention spand though. Has anyone else felt like you have to force your way through this thing?
Is there a single book in the HISTORY of American literature that ended worse than this?
Louis gets on stage, jumps around
>audience starts cheering
>"You know what crowd!?!"
>audience yells "WHAT LOUIS!"
>"i always wanted too be a rapper"
>Crowd laughs!!
>"so in honor of MLK day, let me kick a little rhyme for you"
>Base line starts playimg, crowd cheers, a door in the back slamms open and out comes a streetdancing crew of urban youth backflipping onto the stage
>Louis grabbs the mic and starts rapping
>I like big black cocks and I can not lie
>You other white guys can't deny
>That when a black guy walks in with an itty bitty waist
>And a big dick in your face
>You get sprung, wanna pull out your bum
>'Cause you notice that cock is thick
>Deep in the jeans he's wearing
>I'm hooked and I can't stop staring
>Oh honey, let him get with you
>And let me take a picture
>His homeboys tried to warn me
>But that big black cock he's got makes me so horny
>Ooh, Cock with black-skin
You say you wanna get in my Wife?
>Well, use her, use me
>'Cause i ain't that average cuckold
>I've seen them dancin'
>To hell with romancin'
>My wife's sweat, wet,
>Black cock have her going like a turbo 'Vette
>I'm tired of magazines
>Sayin' white dicks are the thing
>Take the average white woman and ask her that
>So, fellas! (Yeah!) Fellas! (Yeah!)
>Has your girlfriend got the Big Black cock? (Hell yeah!)
>Tell 'em to shake it! (Shake it!) Shake it! (Shake it!)
>Shake that throbbing cock
>Louie's got Cuckdee
Critique Thread
Let's git er dun. I submit:
The turd in the toilet took two seconds to tear apart. My fingerprints rilled with shit. It was supposed to be inside, but it was all doo doo. I glare at grandma. 'Why?'
Next thing I know, I'm at Romanelli's Scrap Metal arguing with handless cashier over how much grandma's walker is worth. 'Wha? This is aluminium alloy—no, I don't know with what!'
Back at the house grandma beckons. 'It is in my cunt' she whispers against my ear. So I guide her in the bathroom, undo her pants, and help her sit on the toilet. With a breaststroke motion I part her knees, her skin oldwoman soft. I feel my way into her melanin drained bush, of course she's self lubricating, why not? Middle and ring finger, searching. Has she been lying? Is she delusional? Insane?
My name is Alex Trebek, I may have all the Answers, but the real Answers are the Questions.
I was in DC all week. I got to sit next to Pope Francis today flying into JFK. Doing the NYT crossword, he turns to me, 'four letter word for a woman, ending in 'u-n-t'?'
'Aunt'
'Do you have an eraser?'
Now, in my voice: The Answers are the Questions.
Follow your leader, cultural Marxists.
What are some books which heavily empathise human senses other than sight and hearing, ideally ones other than the five, such as the senses of temperature, time, or balance?
Character Development
Hey guys. The topic is pretty broad, I know. I'm interested in particularly good or bad examples of character development, but also in theories (i.e. completely unfounded and unqualified opinions) about it.
Pic is how you don't do character development, I guess. It's a show, but still.
How to write firefights
So the novel I am writing has a lot of shoot-outs in it, in a mix of heroic and realistic. As in, the characters are able to take on enemies and survive, but its by taking cover, using suppressive fire, flanking, etc..
I am curious how you would write such a combat sequence. Should I describe it blow by blow? How do I describe "he shoots at the enemy soldiers" without it getting repetitive as fuck?
Describing the sounds of the guns? I've tried using words like "barking" and "chattering" to describe the gunfire. But it's hard to insert it between lines of dialogue without feeling samey.
I dunno, anyone got any examples of well-written shootout scenes? My novel is probably a really lame story but I at least want it to be well-written lame story.
help me shop for my family
hey /lit/ i'm planning on getting books for everyone in my family for the holidays. any suggestions would be appreciated.
my sister is in grad school for teaching art. she reads some moderately heavy philosophy books that i know nothing about. she's a big jonathan safran foer fan, and the last time i saw her we talked about haruki murakimi.
my mom teaches english at a high school for guys. she's recently started teaching some lovecraft, alan moore and neil gaiman and enjoys it and it's stuff that i like a lot. but i feel like she gets enough of this from her job. charles dickens is her favorite author but she's definitely read everything by dickens and most of the literary "classics" that first jump to mind. i'm thinking that she'd rather have some short stories to read because she's generally very busy.
my dad reads a lot of history. he's been reading progressively lighter things and i think a narrative that basically reads like a novel would be best. he's usually pretty interested in learning about places that he's lived in: new england, france, tunisia and haiti, but more general is also fine. he was a really big fan of Guns, Germs and Steel.
my cousin has gotten super religious lately and i don't think he would read fiction if i gave it to him. he studied history/international politics as an undergrad. he lived in kenya for a while. i think he would feel persecuted if i gave him something that has a strong post-colonialist tilt to it, so i was looking for something about something contemporary and interesting that doesn't have to do with blaming african turmoil on imperialism.
my uncle reads a lot of environmental writing. i've talked with him a lot about leopold, thoreau, tom brown jr and a handful of other books. i think he'd be more interested in a book that involves some aspect of exploration rather than a doom-and-gloom book about climate change, but i was looking for something contemporary. i was thinking michael pollan.
my aunt is really christian, also a vegetarian and formerly worked with kids a lot. she really likes dogs and pigs. i think it would have to be something sort of light and also uplifting. i'm really at a loss for what to get her.
i know these are vague but any suggestions are appreciated. if anyone else is trying to shop for other people feel free to post itt.
So I'm currently brushing up on some plays like pic related, and was wondering if /lit/ could recommend some more. I've read some Ibsen, Shakespeare, most of Miller's work, and planning on O'Niell soon. I know this is babby's first theatre, but I'm stumped here.
Do you have any favorites?
Musical theatre faggots are not allowed.
Women who run with wolves
Thoughts on this book?
Valhalla
Has anyone here even heard of the Valhalla Trilogy?
critique thread
So far I have more but for some reason it didnt copy paste 48000 words.
pic unrelated
==FUCKING NORMIES GET AWAY FROM MY MEME PHILOSOPHERS NORMIEEEESSSS==
I think it's time for a general recommendation thread.
Here's how this will work, you post the last three books you liked for general recommendations. If you want recommendations for a topic just ask for that.
Before you post check the thread and make at least one recommendation.
The War against the Tyranny of Aerys II Targaryen
>The game takes place in G.R.R.M A World of Ice and Fire (AWOIAF) and is based around the events of "Roberts Rebellion." Players can choose from many of the historically living characters, and/ or Westerosi noble houses. From there it is up to the Players to decide what they wish to accomplish, whether it is supporting one of the two factions in the civil war (Royalists and Loyalists) or seeking indepedence (Like Dorne) or playing the Game of Thrones (Playing all sides, to ones own advantage). At this stage in the game most everybody is revolving around the actual military conflict for the Throne. The Game is unique in that players actually play out (RP) the battles, allowing for more direct control over the outcome.
E-readers
Does /lit/ use e-readers for reading? I know they will never be as good as real books but I don't have too much space in my house and I'm traveling all the time so I'm thinking about getting one.
Opinions?
What's /lit/'s opinion on Chuck Palahniuk?
I'm not sure if his writing was always shit, or if he sorta just became a James Patterson/ Danielle Steel-ish "crank them out by the truckload" sort of author.
I think the last novel by him I tried to read was Diary before the main character's writing style just shut me out.
ITT the last book you read
BREAKING NEWS: Camille "Rhizome Raider" Paglia spotted outside the Ecole Normale, threatening students and faculty.
Has anyone here ever written anything for cracked? Apparently they pay you for shit. Anyone know how much they pay?
What does /lit/ think of the Bizarro genre? Is it relevant?
None of the books I've read throughout it have been well written in the least, but, for me at least, that didn't stop them from being fun reads in the same way one would enjoy a shitty b movie.
General thoughts on Wired on this board?
Literary Requests
What in your experience with it, is a good example of literature that communicates useful lessons on the art of persuading people, also I am looking a book that can help a person increase his knowledge of English vocabulary, thank you if you posted relevant material that almost, or completely meets said requirements.
Has anyone else read this degeneracy?
I need help finding a version of this comic where the book pile grows until the man is amongst Christian artwork, then grows to Nietzsche and finally to Stirner's head upon what I assume is a Phoenix's body. It's one of my favorite images off of here. Thanks.
Shitty Book Idea Thread
Post your ideas for shitty books.
"Just Do It"
Former Olympic sprinter feels an uncontrollable urge to kill whenever he sees the Nike logo.
What are the best horror fiction books?
Hi /lit/, I'm a visitor from /liberty/. Have been thinking about writing a book for some time now. Can you give me some general advice on how to write a book with political / ethical statements without letting it drag down the story, or some particularly good or bad examples of stories that suffered or benefitted from having a strong message?
That said, don't want to become a hit-and-run-poster, your board actually does look like fun.
LOTF
In Lord Of The Flies who is the greatest victim? Ralph, Simon or piggy?
Pro tip: it's piggy
Hey /lit/ is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson a good read?
It's been a while since I read a book and thought that I might try getting back into it.
Let's see if 8chan's /lit/ is able to answer me like 4chan couldn't.
I've been trying to find a novel I read a long long time ago.
I remember the protagonist travels to this place where he had some business to do.
All the employees and people were kind of really not talkative and spaced out. He found out about some misteries roaming the place.
(I know it's vague so far)
Thing is, every night he went to sleep, a monster (or maybe a man) looked at him from the window.
Then it would come in and lay its hand upon the protagonist's forehead.
The protagonist then would think about how sad he felt when it did that, and how sadness was even deeper because he was about to sleep, and having his eyes closed prevented him from looking at reality and numbing the pain with it.
This is all I've got.
Any clues?
PRIMARY ACCOUNT OF SLAVERY FROM THE NON SLAVE ASPECT
Can anyone recommend a UNBIASED,book of an account of slavery from a non-slave from the time of slavery. I'm not looking for a dramatic tear jerker, just the logistics of slavery and economy
I've been searching for a good book to read, preferably hardbound, and I found this at cheap price. Is it worth?
I just got assigned to go into a reading group about Das Kapital from Marx.
I know that the book it's quite dense and filled with ideas coming from Hegel and Feuerbach, so my teacher decided to put up the guide that Althusser wrote (Reading Capital), yet I'm kind of divided about only reading Althusser since I know that for one he is very close to Lacanian-Psychoanalysis, and that can add another layer of complexity in terminology and whatnot. Plus, I do not competely agree with psychoanalysis, so I'd like to know what are some other books that can help me with reading Das Kapital that can give me a bigger scope.
Also, I guess this can also serve as a thread to discuss Marx.
Pedophile literature thread.
Hi guys. I was searching for pedo books and writers.
Pic related is the current chart (work in progress).
Paradise Lost Question
I'm sure there's got to be someone on /lit/ who's read Paradise Lost, and has read up on context and can understand Milton's English better than me.
Excerpt in question, when Satan is arguing with Abdiel (Book V, Lines 853-864):
>That we were form'd then say'st thou? and the work
>Of secondary hands, by task transferr'd
>From Father to his Son? Strange point and new;
>Doctrine which we would know whence learn'd, who saw
>When this creation was? remeber'st thou
>Thy making, while the Maker gave thee being?
>We know no time when we were not as now;
>Know none before us, self-begot, self-rais'd
>By our own quick'ning power, when fatal course
>Had circled his full orb, the birth mature
>Of this our native heaven, ethereal sons.
>Our puissance is our own………………
Is Satan arguing that the angels were never created, but just budded out of Heaven without God's help? That's what it seems like, but I'm pretty sure that's counter to Christian theology (atheist, so I wouldn't bet my life on it). Is Milton introducing his own theology here?
Book selection
I'm thinking about getting a book to read, and I am torn between Dante's Divine Comedy and The prince by Machiavelli. I know that these two have nothing in common; I just wanted to have something to read until Christmas and found about these two in particular. Shit, if you have anything else to recommend, then go right ahead
pic does not indicate any preference
ITT: Post books you didn't get
The less likeable you are, the lower the chances of being alive at the end?
Hey nerds,
Has there ever been a book where a suicide leads to a chain reaction of suicides?
For example, the guy who commits suicide in reaction to the first guy's suicide will have someone close who then commits suicide and so on. Like dominoes.
If there has not been a book about this, then please do not steal my idea.
Hi we have a number of boards on 8chan that are active and the BOs alive but they don't show up anywhere on the top 50.
You can only spread the link on 8chan so much. Giving links out of site has mixed success because some people are not used to the anonymous posting style and may think crazy things like "hatechan" and "internet hackers and fbi".
One of the most sustainable ways to keep our boards active and the people who would enjoy them to be able to find them is to set up some networking. Not just 2 or 3 boards reciprocating in their "rule" post or having a link in their message, but dozens of boards with Embassies to dozens of other boards.
For example have you heard of >>>/bunker/ ? It's original purpose was and still is to be safe from spambot attacks. The userbase leads the desire and purpose of a board and some posters on our board have started discussing survival strategies and preparedness.
Some other boards of note are
>>>/ancap/ Anarchist board with few restrictions
>>>/grim/ Board in which happyposting is discouraged
>>>/lit/ Lots of good literature discussion and help finding rare works
>>>/pn/ unrestricted politics and news
>>>/pdf/ A board for big fat PDF files - still waiting for our based cripple to raise the upload limit
>>>/sf/ hardcore Asimovian polemics with a focus on Hard Science based "fictions"
>>>/32/ Psyops and political trickery are no match for the power of our intelligent userbase
Do you know any others?
BUMP
not sure if I want to gear my story to being a tragedy or a comedy
a tragedy would encapsulate how I feel but a comedy would make me feel better
Writer's Block
How do you guys tackle writer's block? Also, pust current book you're reading.
erotica
what are the best books to fap to?
Would a website like this be of interest to anyone?
This is just a proof of concept, but I think you get the idea. I'm seriously considering the idea of continuing my work on it.
Hey guys. August 20th, the french translation of infinite jest will be released.
Thought on it ? (I 've already reserved mine).
>inb4 "Muh, read book in native languages"
Yes, but I like to have a translation, If I don't understand properly something.
old books you bought recently
I'm very materialistic about books and try to collect antiques, but I'm perpetually broke so I only get something nice when it's something I absolutely can't resist. Just got this yesterday, I'm an econ student and an old copy of this was too neat to pass up. A cursory google search leads me to believe that it's a pretty early printing.
Why was Walter Benjamin such an evil occultist?
Hiya /lit/! Aspiring author here. I just entered into some novel-length contest where they say the winner gets published. They told me to shill on leddit or twitter or facebook, but I'd thought I'd try 8chan first, because why the fuck not.
I need votes to help my standing in the contest (although, supposedly, it's not all based around votes). The way it stands, I only need about 9 votes to be in the top fifteen or so.
http://www.inkitt.com/stories/24513
You can read the whole damn thing too, if you'd like. But who has the time for that shit?
Anyway, the point is this, if 8chan helps my book win, I'll dedicate it to who ever or whatever 8chan wants, chosen by a strawpoll of the most popular suggestions. Personally, I'd prefer hotwheels cuz he's a personal inspiration to me.
Opinions on Ancilliary Justice
Has anyone read this? It has received many awards.
But, I have heard only bad things about it, that it is feminist propaganda. It uses only one pronoun for both genders, making it unreadable.
Does it have a redeeming plot or characters? Or something?
/r/ing good literature with Christian undertones, themes or biblical-styled allegories. Nothing retardedly blatant, please.
I've been wanting to get into literature for a few weeks now but I just don't where to start. I'm interested in intelligent/philosophical/theological books, and other things like that. Recommend me something for a good start.
Post your fav books and other people guess your personality
>Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (mainstream book on the pilgrims and the natives)
>Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard
>The False Assumptions of Democracy by Anthony Ludovici
>Patriarchia: The Natural Power of Kings by Robert Filmer
how good would you say lolita was out of 10?
Writing Tips
ITT: Writing tipsWarning, bad advice will be mercilessly rediculed
My advice:
>It's never finished
I find that I just can't read for pleasure during the school year. On vacations I enjoy literature but they never last long enough that I could complete a large project, like reading the works of Plato which has been on my to-do list for longer than I can remember.
Has anyone here struggled with feeling unmotivated to read, or having too busy a mind to sit down and read/comprehend? School fills my head with white noise and I can't sit down to focus on anything for too long. I have plenty of free time but it frustrates me to no end because I can't use it for something productive like reading, instead opting for mindless degenerative tasks like vidya or funposting.
Anyone struggled with this and maybe even overcome it?
short horror stories
So, I'm working on building a small automated pirate radio station at my high school as a sort of Halloween prank. We're trying to keep it fun, and will have play a series of short horror stories (audiobooks). What stories should we have? Preferably clean, by that I mean not entirely depraved. Anything is fine, we're already for sure doing the tell tale heart.
do pdfs work here?
BO edit/answer: No, but take a look at the next two posts in this thread for an important update.
Defiantly Masculine Heroes
Hi, /lit/. I don't come here often, but I'd appreciate your expertise and recommendations on a topic I've been wondering about.
So I recently read a couple of Ayn Rand's novels, and I was honestly quite impressed. I was impressed by how absolutely based the heroes of these novels were. Now I am not a total capitalist or a modernist – I'm actually more of a traditionalist in my worldview – but I was still quite compelled by Ayn Rand's ability to write such defiantly masculine heroes. It is sometimes said that no one writes a manly man better than Rand. Like I was saying, I don't totally agree with Rand's philosophy or economics; I just really appreciate something about the confident, virile spirit of the men she creates in her stories. That's something you don't often see anymore in respected literature. Literary snobs today usually look down on the ideal of the masculine hero as an impossible cliche that belongs only in childish comic books. I disagree.
I guess what I want to ask is: Do you know of any other novels that heroisize manly as fuck dudes who are determined to get their way and achieve their vision despite all the haters and naggers who try to bring em down? And preferably novels which promote a more traditionalist view of man (if you can manage to think of any)? I appreciate any recommendations you might offer. Just hit me with whatever you think might be interesting. I think you know what I'm getting at.
Oh, and inb4 the classics. I already realize that epics like The Iliad and The Odyssey and The Aeneid exist. The classics are obviously a given in this field. But go ahead and mention some classics if you think you really ought to. Just know that I'm really looking for modern novels in particular that are able to successfully express masculine themes in ways similar to how Rand does (but perhaps with a little less dryness).
Thanks!
What do you think, /lit/ ?
>"No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached."
Edward Sapir, 1929.
>pic unrelated
After Book X of Livy
Where do I go from here? Book X of Livy ends around 290 BC, and Polybius, who seems to be the next major historian, comes in around 262 BC. It seems the only person who fills in the gap here is Dionysius of Halicarnassus in the work Roman Antiquities. However, it seems next to no-one reads this and I know nothing about it.
god tier book thread
pic unrelated
Freelance Writer
Hey /lit/,
I'm looking into doing freelance writing; specifically articles for news sites (starting off). What can you do to secure your first few gigs?
Bernard Cornwell
When I was about 15, Bernard Cornwell was certainly my favorite author. His storytelling abilities and immersive style of writing really captivated my mind, and to this day I'm able to picture the battlefields that he had created. He is an extremely prolific writer and for us Americans a new miniseries based on his work is airing tonight.
I'm not sure if I could get back into reading his stuff now though. I picked up the first of his Saxon stories a few years back and I just couldn't connect with it: I now read literal nonfiction and scholarship and it feels like a waste of time to be reading fiction when I could be learning the truth. But nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the Sharpe series and the Arthur series and Agincourt.
re: internet war + the epic genre
hey /lit/
how would one try to represent and fuse the coming world war with older epic depictions of combat?
more specifically, in homer and virgil there's always a bit of shittalking before people toss spears and kill someone.
how would this basic dynamic be represented in a conflict between russian hackers and american hackers, or rogue north koreans and the nsa?
i know very little about actual hacking and computers and networking, and so maybe some basic explanation of how cyberwarfare works would also be useful.
i'm gonna crosspost this to halfchan but expect the better answers here.
Whither next?
A thread for anyone needing some prodding on choosing what to peruse from their backlog.
Or just idle curiosity to see what other anons would do with such oddball lists.
how would you feel if you found a porn version of your favourite book?
http://www.xvideos.com/video6788295/the_master_and_margarita
BO, if you find this out of line i have no problem in seeing it deleted.
it that's the case i apologize in advance.
Writing instrument thread/Fountain pen thread/Traditional written text thread
Let's talk about writing instruments like Graphite pencils, Mechanical pencils, Grease pens, Felt-tip pens, Brush pens, Dip pens, and Fountain pens.
What do you use and why not something else? What's your favorite fountain pen? What was your first fountain pen? What will you try next? How do you write and what kind of font do you use, if any? Paper?
Is this appropriate here? I doubt /tech/ would be receptive and this is literally the only active board that's somewhat related to it. Just let it be, please mods?
I have no idea if this is where I should ask but I'm looking to get my niece a birthday present so does anyone know some good slice of life books/grhic novels sorta like the one shown?
Making Virtual Archive
I'm planning on going into hiding soon, and I want to make a massive comprehensive virtual archive of as many books as I can. At the least I want to have the "major" books.
Where do I need to go to learn about book piracy? What are your virtual libraries like? What do I need to know?
A new beat.
Palahniuk fancies himself a member of the new Beat Generation. Which member of the original would you say his writings most resemble? Is he a Ginsberg, a Kerouac, a Burroughs?
Inb4 Carr. That's just silly.
Hey /lit/. My teacher is letting us pick a book to read that is to be read in our free time. Pic related is the first book that we are reading as a class.
Other books are Macbeth, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Great Gatsby. Since we are reading them as a class they are off limits.
So /lit/ what book should I read? Also need a second book for the second half of the year so might as well give two books. The caveat is that the books have to be by American authors as it is an American literature class.
Hey /lit/ can you recommend essential books on the Romans?A info-graphic, like starting with the Greeks would be appreciated if one exists.
books
hello anons, i find those kind of threads are generally frowned upon, but since this board seems kinda slow i hope you won't mind
can you recommend me some books to read, preferably public domain so that i can get them on my kindle easy
i won't go into detail of what i like; the last two books i read were Chance: a Tale in Two Parts by Conrad, and The Castle by Kafka
Have you ever worked with the idea of tweaking your language, /lit/? Things like the devising of custom grammar symbols (a simple example would be in differentiating the Oxford comma from the semi-colon, or for something already extant; the interrocomma), or the introduction of new grammar forms like that of the second degree third person - for the sake of bringing your linguistics closer to the flow of your natural thought process, for instance, or perhaps just as a more general thought exercise.
Sorry for going off-topic with this, but with /lit/ being the closest board there is to /ling/, I think here would be the best place to ask about this. Frankly, I think I'm kinda underselling this concept (common English has felt like a sizable thorn to me for a long time now), but we'll see how this works out yet.
Has a story ever moved you in a profound, perhaps life-changing way?
I almost feel like I was robbed of something in my childhood, for not having read this when I was much younger. My introduction to Arthur C. Clarke started with 2001 in high school and I had read maybe 20 of his books over the years.
But this story right here. It is a travesty that I never learned about it and finally read it until I was 26. It inspired me even then and I feel like it could have motivated my drive to be a scientist and push myself academically all the more powerful.
ITT: Recommended/Enjoyable reads
So another anon (>>6634) made the suggestion that we should have a thread of recommendations based on books we like. He also had a suggestion of focusing on works post-1900, so if you want to do that that's fine (if you want to recommend older books that's fine too). So put a couple of suggestions of books you like and you think fellow anons might like too.
Hey guys
So I was looking for a list of basic books, books that anyone who calls himself a literate must have read. If you have any ideas of what books I'm looking for just tell me so I can start downloading!
Why is surrealist literature secret?
I've been trying to get into surrealist literature, b can't find a single book that actually has any mention anywhere. I've tried Hebdomeros, Les Chants de Maldoror, and Babylon, but I can't find any information on what these books are about, let alone an actual pdf of them. Can anyone explain to me what surrealist literature is like? I'd like to at least know what it's like before I spend money on a book that I know absolutely nothing about. I just want something that feels dreamy and chaotic.
Novels about Communism?
Greetings,
Some time ago, it came to my mind, that how come there are no fictional novels about a world of Communism? There are novels that depict the world as how it should have been if the Nazis have won WWII, but I cannot recall any that deals with an alternate reality where Communism dominates the world. For reference, I am looking for stuff like C.J. Sansom's Dominion, only with Communists.
>inb4 back to /pol/
1. This isn't a political question, at least I'm not a Commie myself, just interested in alternate history novels
2. I've already asked them, and the two books they have offered are 1984 (already read it) and some strange economic idunnowhat, but those are not what I am looking for
Asked /leftypol/ as well, they could only offer me novels about anarchism.
So please, if you know any books that are fictional and take place in an alternate world ruled by Communism, please tell me!
Anyone read Asian Wuxia/Xianxia/litRPGs?
http://www.novelupdates.com/series-ranking/
Bad thing about the whole thing is that they are pretty predictable especially if you read enough of them. The fundamental plot/mechanics of the genre I mentioned are training/grinding to pass/solve a conflict. Wuxia are sometimes close to fantasy dependent on the plot delivery. Wuxia are generally close to medieval shit/middle ages weaponry. Xianxia/LitRPGs generally fall into fantasy (sword and shit instead of Asimovian polemics/technology) genre. They're good enough to pass time though and generally dependent on your interest.
They're more akin to mainstream manga.
I probably liked 3 Xianxia and 1 Wuxia from the load of shit I've read from the two genre. I'm interested on litRPG though since >>>/v/idya so I have quite a few novels I go back to.
suggest book e/lit/ists
hey /lit/ i need to read a english book for school, what do you suggest. it has to have some sort of meaning and it has to be fiction.
Essay about Being Writer, Writing and Artist
Author :
YURI OLESHA
Translated by David Powelstock
Title :
Speech to the First All-Union
Congress of Soviet Writers
Moscow, August 1934
Link :
http://www.sovlit.net/oleshaspeech/
or
https://web.archive.org/web/20150222000030/http://www.sovlit.net/oleshaspeech/
Abstract :
Essay about Being Writer, Writing and Artist
Quotes :
An image can kill the artist.
Can I get a list of must read books from 4000BC-1800s?
I'm looking for good, old books
I'll start
Beowulf-Unknown
Canterbury Tales- Geoffrey Chaucer
L'Mort De Arthur-unkown
The Iliad and The Odyssey- Homer
Shakespeare's Complete Works- Shakespeare
Prose and Poetic Eddas- Unknown
The /lit/ conundrum
The most time I spend in this place, the firmer 2 certainties become:
1. /lit/ is full of frustrated writers.
This is objectively provable by the number of threads discussing writing tips, writing instruments, critique of anons' work and such stuff. I would say that a very high percentage (of the very low number) of visitors on this forum have the dream of—someday—publish something.
That's all fine and dandy. Now to certainty number 2:
2. All e/lit/ists actually believe that they are real elitists.
What I mean by this is that lurkers and posters actually believe that they are (somehow) better than the drivel and shit being pumped out of modern publishing houses. This is objectively provable by the number of threads mocking and destroying well renown modern authors for the sake of it. More often than not qualifying them as 'degeneracy' (oh, /pol/!…)
So, with this two certainties I'm proposing two premises, coded trough an 'or' logical operator:
Regular posters on this forum, although well read and cult individuals, will never publish anything. This frustration will amplify the social angst that drove their users to become chan culture consumers, thus making it even harder for any of them to publish anything, ever.
Or
If they publish something, they would have to resort to the same ugly tactics they call degeneracy. They would whore their asses on a series of youtube vids about history and then write a novel about the semi-plagiarized biography of a young woman fighting cancer and call it art.
What I think I'm saying is that everyone here would sell their soul and their mothers' ass for a publishing contract. No matter how e/lit/ist you feel.
Discuss, if you may, fine fellas.
Mary Sues
What do you guys have to say about Mary Sues? I've been on Tvtropes way too long until I got sick of the site, and from it, I have the impression that a lot of new writers seem to think you're not shit-tier as long as your main character is not a Mary Sue.
Personally, I don't have that much against Mary Sues. I think there are dozens of worse things to write. In fact, I think I'd prefer a magical princess who gets shit done over another boring, trite everyman every single day. I'm still starting out with any kind of serious writing, however, so I'd like to hear a few more opinions from actual e/lit/ists, too. Might prove insightful.
I'm assuming here that the concept still has any meaning. I'm aware that it's been watered down like shit, and has been created by fanfiction-writers in the first place, so yeah.
Pic related. Haven't read this shit myself, but it looks like complete cancer.
I got drunk and bought a domain, so I decided to take a couple days and make a website for it.
Now I have a small press. My plan is to help people get cover art and editing and build a network to help self published books get more visibility. What do you think? Does it have a chance?
www.foxhoundpress.com
http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks/chandlerr-ladyinthelake/chandlerr-ladyinthelake-00-h.html
>Lavery swung the door shut and sat on the davenport. He grabbed a cigarette out of a hammered silver box and lit it and looked at me irritably. I sat down opposite him and looked him over. He had everything in the way of good looks the snapshot had indicated. He had a terrific torso and magnificent thighs. His eyes were chestnut brown and the whites of them slightly gray-white. His hair was rather long and curled a little over his temples. His brown skin showed no signs of dissipation. He was a nice piece of beef, but to me that was all he was. I could understand that women would think he was something to yell for.
N-no h-homo…
I just finished Sandman
I just finished Sandman (I got the two omnibuses, which the materialistic book-enthusiast in me loves). It's the longest graphic novel series that I've read to date (mostly because of money honestly), loved it.
Are there any other books that deal with a similar universe or themes that anyone would like to recommend?
I convinced my mom to get the first Sandman and V for Vendetta. She teaches at a prep school where all the teaching is one-on-one and she was talking about difficult it can be to get freshman to read stuff when they've been conditioned to not like anything they read in school. She said a couple of her students seemed interested.
Spooky Alien Book
I want to read a book that's about spooky creepy ayyliens, conspiracies, Area 51 crap, or maybe something like Dark City. What can you recommend?
Tell me about all the different types of prose style. Formal, archaic, eloquent, etcetera
History of Germany Since 1789
Has anyone read this? Is it any good?
Or should I not waste my time with it?
i need some help coming up with a title for an argumentative essay opposing the death penalty. any ideas? thanks.
How to start with the greeks so I can understand Hegel?
I'm new here, and want to get into Freelance writing, but I can't find anything in any stickies about actual writing resources.
Does anyone have any essentials or links to help new writers with the basics of grammar, punctuation, etc?
Just finished this and loved it.
Am thinking about reading more in the series, any advice on what order to tackle them?
Biographies
Can you suggest interesting and well written biographies /lit/?
What is /lit/'s honest opinion of Stephen King?
ITT: best erotic novels
>pic unrelated
Peter Sotos
Hey, I want to start reading stuff by Peter Sotos, I've already heard Buyer's Market and Proxy and was kind of intrigued.
SO, I was wondering if anyone hear has had the pleasure of reading any of his works and I was wondering which book I should start off on.
I want to start off with the rawest one hes got and then work my way up to the more tame books (for lack of a better way of putting it)
Your input is appreciated.
Hey e/lit/ists. I was always fascinated with torture, even have a fetish for it. I don't think I could write a longer story without incorporating at least some in it, for whatever reason. Just because I'm kind of an edgelord doesn't mean I shouldn't at least do shit right, though, so I thought I'd ask how one writes a good torture scene. So, anyone have tips or book recommendations?
So far, I've read 1984, Neuropath, Behemoth, two books by Cody McFayden, half a (pretty trite) book on interrogation techniques and endless articles on it, just so you know a bit about my background.
I'm not asking you guys to come up with creative torture methods. Not feeling bismuth enough for this shit, and also I'm not fourteen anymore.
I want to know more about organized crime, with more details, and if possible in actual times. Something like the movie Goodfellas, as in the rise of a man in the life of organized crime, or at least his daily adult life in it.
If you recommend me books like the ones that I'm requesting that aren't in american/english
settings I will forever love you.
Hey /lit/ let's play a game. Describe a book with a Spongebob quote.
care thread
sharing is caring
looking for Vicars of Christ by Peter de Rosa
http://www.amazon.com/Vicars-Christ-Dark-Side-Papacy/dp/184223000X
any format, any edition. pls i really need this book
ITT: We come up with names for John Green's next novels.
The Forsaken Angels of Maine
Unforgiven Tears
Torn Bridges
How do you write a good fight scene, /lit/? I know the theory behind a lot of writing, but when it comes to writing a fight scene, I'm stumbling in the dark.