#writing hacks

[charitysstories]

Repost chain!

Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

Edit: People, I’m an English and creative writing double major in college; I understand that there’s nothing wrong with simply using “said.” This was just for fun, and it comes in handy when I need to add pizzazz. 

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

📉 The 5 Worst Writing Advice Bits You Might Still Believe

(Let’s Burn Them Together)

You’ve been lied to. Or at least, misled by well-meaning chaos goblins with strong opinions and a Twitter account.

Here’s a lovingly aggressive breakdown of writing “advice” you need to kick into a volcano immediately:

─────── ✦ ───────

“Write Every Day or You’re Not a Real Writer”

🗑️ Into the fire it goes.

This is advice built for guilt, not creativity. You’re a writer if you write. That includes:

Writing on weekends.

Writing in your Notes app once a week.

Writing one scene per month.

Thinking intensely about a story while doing literally anything else.

Consistency helps, sure. But daily output? Not the only path. And definitely not a moral obligation.

✨ Alternative: Write when you can, track what works, and let your process breathe.

─────── ✦ ───────

“If You’re Stuck, You Just Don’t Want It Bad Enough”

This is the kind of advice that sounds motivational until it destroys your relationship with writing.

Being stuck doesn’t mean you’re lazy or not passionate. It could mean: → You’re burnt out. → Your plot needs restructuring. → Your brain is full of static. → You’re scared to get it wrong.

✨ Alternative: Ask what your block is protecting you from. Then fix the problem, not your willpower.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Kill Your Darlings”

Yes, let’s just delete everything with emotional weight and pretend that makes it deep.

Look, editing matters. But this advice gets misused constantly. Killing your darlings doesn’t mean gutting every beautiful or weird or vulnerable thing in your prose. It means cutting what doesn’t serve the story.

✨ Alternative: Kill what doesn’t carry weight. Keep what resonates. Be ruthless with purpose, not performance.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Avoid Adverbs at All Costs”

This one was born in grammar hell.

Adverbs aren’t the enemy. Lazy adverbs are. But you know what else is lazy? Blanket bans. Adverbs can tighten a sentence, clarify emotion, or give rhythm when used intentionally.

✨ Alternative: Use adverbs when they do something specific. Don’t fear them, control them.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Your First Draft Has to Be Good or Don’t Bother”

This one? Evil.

It’s the fast track to perfectionism paralysis. First drafts aren’t supposed to be good. They’re supposed to exist. You can’t fix a blank page. You can fix a bad one.

✨ Alternative: Let your draft be messy. Be cringe. Be excessive. You’ll sculpt later. Right now? Just build the block of marble.

─────── ✦ ───────

Final thoughts from your local chaos scribe:

→ You don’t need to suffer to earn the title “writer.” → Your process is allowed to look different. → You are not broken because someone’s advice didn’t work for you. → Not everything that sounds “productive” is healthy. → Burn the rulebook. Build a toolkit instead.

—rin t. // writing advice that doesn’t suck™ // thewriteadviceforwriters

[pennavnprojects]

Verbs, Verbs, Verbs

Recently, during feedback in my writing group, I got a compliment on my choice of verbs. I thanked the person who gave me the compliment, explaining that I spend a lot of time deciding which verbs I use. Later, it got me thinking about my own writing style. I realized I started selecting specific verbs to overcome my bad habit of using adverbs. Seriously. He walked leisurely -> He ambled She quickly jumped -> She leaped He looked attentively -> He stared She sat listlessly -> She slumped

Taking a few extra seconds to find the right verb has been a game-changer for my writing. If you're like me, and tend to overuse adverbs, definitely try this!

[thatsbelievable]

[writerformanymuses]

one of the best things I did when transitioning my writing from solely fanfic to my original novel was developing a progress system.

all the premade software and planning books were just overwhelming and did not work for me. it also did not motivate me at all. i can not do sequential writing because i will get writers block and just not write.

so with google docs, i made a color system, and oh boy, it has been so helpful. i can see at a glance what has been done, what needs doing, and what could be worked on.

this helps because depending on how many spoons i have to write, i know where i can apply my given effort for the day. some days its just proofing, some days its just starting a chapter, and some days its knocking out a whole thing.

very helpful if you're AuDHD or have chronic conditions like me!

[hirahan]

I made a post about this on my main account, but guys, cherish the stages of grief in your writing. Except don’t just use them for grief. Any kind of emotionally or morally conflicting scenes for the character, especially in more pivotal scenes in my writing, I find myself using the stages of grief as a baseline for how the scene unfolds. And I didn’t realize I did it until a few months ago.

Like one character, my main, Erimyn, trying to accept help from his long-time best friend when his obsession (that his friend doesn’t fully understand) over wraiths goes too far.

Here’s the scene broken down:

(DENIAL) Erimyn: I don’t want your help, Elora. Elora: You need it. (ANGER) Erimyn: If I needed it, I’d ask you. I said back off! Elora: Erimyn. I can’t let you. If you go out there, you’ll die. Either I come, or I’m getting Urik, and he’ll just say the same thing I did. (BARGAINING) Erimyn: Elora, please! I need this! I’ll make it up to you later. I- I need- Elora: Need what, Erimyn? Why are you so obsessed with this? What are you so afraid of? (DEPRESSION) Erimyn: …I can’t. I can’t tell you. But I’ll lose my mind if I don’t. I- I need this. Elora: Then do it. But let me go with you. I want to help you, Erimyn. But you have to let me. (ACCEPTANCE) Erimyn: …Okay. Okay. You can come. But-But you’d better not die! Or lose any- any limbs.

I’ve become a little more confident in my writing, and I find myself liking this for major plot scenes more and more, even if I don’t always use it so it keeps its effect. Just thought I’d share with the writing world!

[edbtle]

A good writing hack for if you hate doing drafts,

(and this works for personal writing or school work)

is to write your first draft down physically, on a piece of paper, in a notebook, anywhere.

Then, when you type it up on a computer you do all the revisions and mistake fixing.

Works like a charm.

[herbariumofletters]

Active vs. Passive Voice: Make Your Sentences Pop!

Greetings Herbarium fam! Here's another struggle writers have: writing in passive voice. I'll have more on this, but for now, here's a quick tip for powerful prose:

Choose the ACTIVE Voice!

It's direct, clear, and makes your writing punchy.

PASSIVE: "The ball was thrown by the boy." (A bit roundabout, right?)

ACTIVE: "The boy threw the ball." (Boom! Clear and strong.)

Active voice brings your subjects to life and makes your sentences sing. Try it!

[walkingbandtee]

I've noticed that writing is easier for me if I do it on my phone (like in my notes app) first, and then just copy it all down on my laptop (in a word processor; google docs for me) and fix any mistakes. It feels like less of a chore that way.

So, if you don't have writers block but can't get yourself to write for some reason, perhaps try that.

[ladycatastrophe7]

Prompts for Structural Edit (how to make a good story into a great story)

Is this Scene Interesting? Is it interesting enough to work as a first chapter (if not, why? How can you make the scene more interesting/stronger? 

Am I clear on what emotion I’m trying to communicate through this scene? 

Is the emotion dynamic (Does the emotion change from beginning to end? Is there contrast and change in the scene?) 

Does every paragraph have a clear hook (reason to keep reading, future expectation or unresolved conflict)?

Does every character have an internal conflict (fear versus desire)?

How can you make what’s happening matter more to your character based on their internal conflict? (rejection will hurt more if they are motivated by validation, and connection will feel sweeter if the character fears loneliness)

What is the goal of every character in this scene? How are they trying to achieve this goal? 

Could I replace any character in this scene without changing the outcome/tone of the scene? If so, How can you make the characters more distinct? How can you make decisions that are unique to your character? 

Does your scene involve a decision based on the character's internal conflict that sets up future scenes?

Does the scene have a strong ambience? 

Are you correctly using the “show, don’t tell” principle?

Do you have smooth pacing that fits the tone of the scene/story?

Any other prompts?

Link to Blog: https://www.society-of-heartsiders.com/

[clovelarch]

Ornate writing that's not pretty prose

We've all been adviced against using purple prose or pretty prose in our writing, and I do go by that statement- pretty prose is like studding a frying pan with rhinestones. Sure you might've bedazzled it but it's deprived of its functionality.

Pretty prose distracts the reader from the soul of your book.

But that does not mean your writing can't be lyrical or descriptive. There's a fine line between lyrical writing and purple prose. But there are simple ways to enhance your description and prose without it being overly decorated and distracting.

TIPS TO WRITE LYRICALLY WITHOUT IT BEING PURPLE

Play around with words : for enhancing description, you don't have to use words that only an oxford graduate will understand. Instead be creative with your combination of words. For instance, when writing the description of a sunlight, instead of using adjectives like bright, shiny, golden etc. try to use words which you won't at first think of using in this scenario - like strands of sunlight, or a splatter of sunlight.

Pay attention to the when's and where's: it's important to pay attention to where you want to elaborate and where you want to keep it simple. You probably shouldn't be describing that park bench that your characters will sit in once and never visit again. But you might want to describe it if that park bench is where the story takes place - if it has emotional significance to the story or the description is necessary to the plot. Don't go elaborating the setting in the middle of an action scene. But if it's your characters just entered a misty forest that's about to change their lives - go ahead. Use all your creative energy.

Describe feelings rather than appearance: you can write prettily when describing how your character is feeling rather than how your character or their surroundings look. Say your characters depression is like being trapped in a tangle of ivy, or how your character feel like they inhaled stardust when they see their loved one. Concentrate on their feelings.

[stellorao3]

my writing ability drastically increased when i started zooming out my google documents to 90%

[mangocatofficial]

Does anyone know of good platforms to post their fanfic? I'm already using Wattpad and Ao3, but I'd also like to broaden my audience and have my story reach as many people as I can. What other popular fanfic sites do people use? Also marketing ideas as well. I try to post on Tumblr frequently to advertise or announce new chapters but they don't get much attention. any tips?

[bibliophilesince2003]

Strong Female Characters

Too many times I pick up a new book to read, but I am immediately met with the female protagonist whose personality is "toughness" and/or "meanness." The equivalent is making a "bad boy" character and calling it a personality. Male or female author, anyone could fall victim to this trap.

Skills and tropes are not personality.

Sure, it's easy to mold a character to snap at everyone in an arrogant manner at every dialogue opportunity and call it a day, but the character remains shallow. Especially for your main character, you should have multiple "words" to describe them. This will bring ease to your writing, too.

For example, for one character of mine... I've put down 18 personality traits in her character chart, and I could likely put down more if given enough time.

When I'm met with a "tough" female protagonist, I'm always expecting more details. What sort of people or what kind of environment makes her stiffen, and - this is as equally as important - what sort of people or what kind of environment makes her relaxed? Being "tough" is more about mood than personality, because surroundings could easily change it.

Is she driven or shy? Is she humorous or serious? Is she observant or a free spirit? Is she clumsy or graceful? Is she friendly or cautious?

Notice how I said "or" and separated the two extremes. You cannot have clumsy and graceful... you must pick one side of the spectrum. A person will naturally lean one way or the other.

Some people make the mistake of choosing the other "extreme" to create weaknesses. "She's driven, but she's shy." Being shy is not a weakness... some people are naturally this way, and there are benefits to being shy.

Find weaknesses within the "extreme" you've chosen.

For example, if one is driven... the weakness is impulsiveness. She may get in trouble, or trouble will find her. Being over-zealous is fine... in doses. Let your character make those mistakes to better represent their personality.

If you're struggling, observe the people in your life. Personality will shine through how a person acts, treats others, talks, etc.

Here's what I do... write down multiple personality traits, decide how extroverted/introverted he/she is, and settle on a single word that wraps up his/her whole character, or most of it, to help refer to something simple during the writing process.

And no, that "single word" better not be a skill or trope.

I want complicated female protagonists again, ones that are more than just mood swings or their environment.

[butternutt613]

Am I on a discord call by myself jamming to musicals and pretending I'm recording a video while I write and am actually so motivated because if it??? Yes... yes I am.

[veryrealauthorthings]