pwritersu Updates, Writing

PWU’s Second Endeavor: “Long-Winded”

Hey everyone!
As some of you may remember, we floated a bit of information about our new project, temporarily titled “Anth2.” Well, we’re happy to say we’ve come up with somewhat of an ironic title: “Long-Winded.” A whole concept is being concocted right now and we’re extremely excited with this direction.

Like before, the theme will be 9+ word titles, hoping to aid to either radical drama or hilarity. We are still accepting all forms of writing, and also looking for illustrators. The cover art has already been taken care of.

The submission deadline has been pushed forward to February 30th, however: PLEASE send in your submissions as soon as possible! Either as a full-fledged submission or a rough outline to prove you do in fact have a submission in the works. We need these as soon as humanly possible so we can begin the nitty-gritty formatting and spacing and reformatting and reformatting as soon as we can to make this whole process go smoother than last time.

A new addition to this system will now be that ANYONE can apply! That includes you! Before we were limiting it to only local writers, but now it’s being opened up to anyone with steady communication and a good idea. Contact us in any of the various ways found in the below paragraph and we can discuss your submissions!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment them, email us at procrastinatingwritersuntied@gmail.com, or DM us on Instagram, @procrastinatingwritersunited! We’ll be happy to answer any and all inquiries. 

Sincerely,
Procrastinating Writers United

pwritersu Updates, Writing

Anthology Update: ARRIVAL

July is almost over (a.k.a. more than four months after our first estimate–gah!) and the print copies are here! (Cue jubilation and cessation of stress!)

If you’re an author, yay! Thank you so much for working with us over the past year–it is no exaggeration to say that this project would have been an absolute flop without you. If you haven’t picked up your copy of the book, or would like to reserve more, don’t worry! We can always dig up some more for you if needed. And every copy is signed, thanks to you!

As for everyone else that preordered, just sit tight for a little bit longer! Your copy will be in your hands as soon as possible. And to those of you who haven’t gotten the chance to order yours yet, no worries! You can always visit our Shop page and order one anytime.

We’re so thankful for all of you, both author and reader alike; whether you’ve been here since the very launch of this group, or this is your first time hearing about any of this. Your support means the world to us and we couldn’t be more grateful.

So yes, though this post may be more than a tad belated, it’s here! This journey has been wild, entertaining, and extremely stressful, but it was worth every second. Thanks for coming along.

Sincerely,
Procrastinating Writers United

pwritersu Writing, Writing Tips

Reasons to Write a Character-Driven Story

When you hear “character driven story,” the first thing that comes to mind is probably a piece of classic literature, possibly by someone like Louisa May Alcott or one of the Brontë sisters. Perhaps you are a fan of those stories, and it kindles a convivial flame in your bosom. Or perhaps you are, like me, a person who tends to run in the opposite direction in distaste. It’s not that they aren’t good books; in fact, I quite enjoyed The Secret Garden and Oliver Twist, so they’re obviously not all hateful in my sight. It’s just that I like a complex but quickly paced narrative with adventure, humor, and a few plot twists to spice things up.

My first attempts at writing mirror this desire: action scenes start on the first page and there’s never any lull in the pace. Rereading now, I find it all phenomenally boring—and even when the constance of unrelenting motion isn’t confusing, it’s impossible to really care on anything greater than a superficial level. The constant hustle prevents any actual introductions to the characters, whose only distinguishing features are their eclectic names. I went into those stories with a plot, quickly waning enthusiasm, and…nothing else. Plot-driven stories are fantastic and all that—without plot, it quickly becomes some abstract symbolism-type speculation more reminiscent of a character study than a story. However, when plot is the only thing happening, it’s easy to simply skim passively through the story. It’s difficult to become invested, and so the reader is basically unaffected by the protagonist. This can come out one of two ways:

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pwritersu Writing, Writing Tips

I/He/She/They Said: Writing Dialog

We’ve all met that writer–that overly-confident, thinks-they-know-better-but-in-truth-is-amateur-at-best writer–who just doesn’t understand how writing dialog works. And then they ask you to be their editor, but every time you try to fix the consistent problem with their dialog writing, they refuse it and insist they’re doing it right. Maybe you’ve even been that writer at some point in your life–I certainly have–but I think just about everyone can agree, that writer is quite annoying to work with.

I can excuse a missing comma or a double space–that’s an accident. But if you’ve forgotten how the English language works (which is justifiable–English is so confusing even to me, a native English speaker), and for some reason can’t go open literally any book and see how to do it properly, then it’s time for a lesson in dialog writing–more specifically, punctuation.

Continue reading “I/He/She/They Said: Writing Dialog” →