Less is More? Writing tips?

[Adeptekon]

I stop reading a lot of fan fiction for some of these reasons (watch me make some of these mistakes)

 

My aversion to tedium bloat as she describes in the first mistake is so strong that my own writing might suffer from being too thin.

 

That said what do you all think of these "mistakes"?

 

 

Edited October 30 by Adeptekon

[thomaswilliams]

Your point about overcorrecting toward thin writing is worth taking seriously. Trimming tedium can easily slide into stripping out the texture that makes a scene feel lived-in, and readers notice when a story is all momentum and no substance. The trick is separating bloat from detail that actually earns its place. A scene can be lean and still breathe if what remains carries weight. I would rather read something slightly too spare than something that repeats itself, but the ideal sits between the two extremes. How do you decide which details are load-bearing when you revise?

[Lathe Biosas]

The current trend of "simpler sentences," is based on the concept of flowery language, em dashes, and descriptive detail is all a sign of AI written or AI polished writing, and a lot of folks are over correcting.

 

I'm in the opposite field right now. My novella is up against a deadline for a Christmas release, and I'm adding additional words and chapters before it goes to the printers. 

 

The goal of your writing is that your target audience finds the story readable and enjoyable. 

[kabaakaba]

I don't really understand why people write so briefly now. I mean, the texts are a bit too action packed. no descriptions. short chopped sentences. he run. sun shine. rose is red. The participial and adverbial participial phrases are dead. any description is so short it's more like I read historical chronicles. and iirc it's not like it's caused by AI hatred, it is this way for quite some time. And that ain't English only problem. my main language suffer even more of this tendency. It's a quiet normal to have 10-15 words in sentence, but now it's 5-7. like most authors turned neanderthals one day.

Edited November 1 by kabaakaba

[Spite]

One of my least favorite "writing" "content creators" on that platform.

 

In my humble opinion, writing is not constrained to "bloat" or being "too thin". It's about the content and your prose.

 

Overwhelmingly, I think most people suffer from a lack of exposure to more than just a handful of writers/media. Your reach should be far and well varied. Exploring different mediums and genres is how your writing tends to be more impactful, as well as having a personal "flare" or nuance or niche, etc.

 

Secondly, WH40k fanfic suffers from one of three things; Firstly, bolter porn for the sake of being bolter porn. Writing in this sandbox ultimately leads to "AND THE SPACE MARINE STOOD ON A PILE OF CORPSES AND FIRED HIS BOLTER UNTIL IT WAS EMPTY OR THERE WERE MORE CORPSES." Boring, boring, boring. Secondly, the "fanfic" issue. "What if Guillamen was actually ROOMMATES with Cawl and they KISSED and made a ton of PRIMARIS?!?!?!?!". While, to be fair, this is where fan fiction has its basis in, and unfortunately those stories will ALWAYS pull more than actual attempts, it is still one of my least favorite aspects of attempting to interact with other peoples' writing. Third, the lack of anything interesting to tell. Cool, you made your own Chapter, and they have a cool name, and, oh wow! They're ran by a secretive organization that has its origins in a Traitor Legion? How original! The 3 Greats of the Black Library typically do NOT write about the standard story beats you'll see other WH40k novels hit, they instead, focus on something DIFFERENT or INTERESTING happening INSIDE of the sandbox/medium that makes it worth the time or effort.

 

And all of this isn't even to bring in the sad, pathetic, cuckoldry of most of everyone (this forum included) using AI to make even more uninteresting, boring bolter porn. 

 

TLDR; Make GOOD content, using your human imagination. Don't make "LoTR/Marvel/Halo/Hell Divers/[insert anime here] but 40k. AI is for losers and cucks. 

Edited Tuesday at 04:07 PM by Spite
typos, less spite

[Adeptekon]

On 11/3/2026 at 10:05 AM, Spite said:

One of my least favorite "writing" "content creators" on that platform.

 

In my humble opinion, writing is not constrained to "bloat" or being "too thin". It's about the content and your prose.

 

Overwhelmingly, I think most people suffer from a lack of exposure to more than just a handful of writers/media. Your reach should be far and well varied. Exploring different mediums and genres is how your writing tends to be more impactful, as well as having a personal "flare" or nuance or niche, etc.

 

Secondly, WH40k fanfic suffers from one of three things; Firstly, bolter porn for the sake of being bolter porn. Writing in this sandbox ultimately leads to "AND THE SPACE MARINE STOOD ON A PILE OF CORPSES AND FIRED HIS BOLTER UNTIL IT WAS EMPTY OR THERE WERE MORE CORPSES." Boring, boring, boring. Secondly, the "fanfic" issue. "What if Guillamen was actually ROOMMATES with Cawl and they KISSED and made a ton of PRIMARIS?!?!?!?!". While, to be fair, this is where fan fiction has its basis in, and unfortunately those stories will ALWAYS pull more than actual attempts, it is still one of my least favorite aspects of attempting to interact with other peoples' writing. Third, the lack of anything interesting to tell. Cool, you made your own Chapter, and they have a cool name, and, oh wow! They're ran by a secretive organization that has its origins in a Traitor Legion? How original! The 3 Greats of the Black Library typically do NOT write about the standard story beats you'll see other WH40k novels hit, they instead, focus on something DIFFERENT or INTERESTING happening INSIDE of the sandbox/medium that makes it worth the time or effort.

 

And all of this isn't even to bring in the sad, pathetic, cuckoldry of most of everyone (this forum included) using AI to make even more uninteresting, boring bolter porn. 

 

TLDR; Make GOOD content, using your human imagination. Don't make "LoTR/Marvel/Halo/Hell Divers/[insert anime here] but 40k. AI is for losers and cucks. 

You should probably tone it down a bit friend. I didn't open this topic to start slinging mud at others' writing or lack there of, but for constructive discussion.

 

Yes you can have strong feelings with out name calling. 

 

I challenge you to a little self awareness of your own writing. What are some things you have struggled with through the years before you reached the level of perfection you have today?

[Lathe Biosas]

Oh. I forgot the other bit that reduced flowery sentences to very simple sentences....

 

The Earle Stanley Gardner of the 21st Century: James Patterson. 

 

Patterson reduced chapter size, reduced word difficulty, dumbed down plots, etc.

 

Patterson (one of the most influential writers of the modern era) changed the way that editors and publishers look at books.

 

I recently had a manuscript returned to me, and it was pointed out that the story was aimed at someone with a 10th grade reading level. I was told that is wayyy to high for today's mystery readers. It needs to be around 5-6th grade at the highest.

 

I've had to remove "unfamiliar words and phrases." It's all so sad, but I need money.

[Adeptekon]

7 minutes ago, Lathe Biosas said:

I've had to remove "unfamiliar words and phrases." It's all so sad, but I need money.

That is sad, but thank you for that bit of trivia. Reminds of John Taylor Gatto's "Dumbing Us Down" (1992), he's a bit of firebrand for some, but has some points about institutionalized schooling.