tombstuck-writes

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people be like “just sit down and write” as if i’m not already fighting 12 inner demons, a collapsing attention span, and the evil spirit of a plot hole i forgot to fix in chapter two

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sometimes i need to remind myself that i'm writing fanfiction for free and i'm allowed to have a shitty sentence or two

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“you’re so quiet” yeah i’m rewriting the same 3 sentences in my head while imagining a dramatic betrayal between fictional people. i’m BUSY

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no amount of employment could stop me posting on tumblr dot com

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"why do you write?" because it’s the only way to silence the characters pacing around my brain like victorian ghosts with unresolved issues that prevent them from moving on.

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every writer has That One Scene that lives in their head rent-free but they can’t write it yet because “the vibes aren’t ripe”

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it is your duty to hyperfixate on your ocs and make it everyone else's problem

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yeah i’m writing again. yeah i put on the same songs on loop in order to focus. yeah i opened the same document 14 times today without writing anything. it’s called playing with the idea of writing. look it up

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Whenever I get caught up in a specific detail in my writing, my sister reminds me that Rick Riordan thought the Arch was OVER the Mississippi river and he still has a huge fandom. Thought some of y'all would appreciate this advice

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maybe if i imagine the character all my problems will be solved

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I see writing tips on here all the time that are designed to help you work through writer's block or a lack of motivation: Write it badly. Set a timer. Build an outline. Have a word goal. And they're all great tips!

Except...they don't work for me. And I could never figure out why, which was always a little frustrating. Like, what am I supposed to do then?!

Until one day, I opened a WIP document and thought, "You know what? I'm going to write 2 sentences. I can write 2 sentences. Plus, if I do, that's 2 more than I wrote yesterday." And I did! I even wrote more than 2 because once I achieved that goal it felt easier. When I eventually hit a wall, I walked away for a bit, and, after some time had passed, I started it all over again.

Then it hit me: All of those other tips focus on volume writing and just getting it done, which was still putting a lot of pressure on myself and felt overwhelming.

...Which is the same problem I have when cleaning or doing any other big, nebulous task and don't know where to start. Because I have ADHD. I'm neurodivergent. You know how I learned to cope with cleaning? By breaking everything into smaller, manageable tasks to help me focus and keep me grounded. I'm not cleaning the kitchen. I'm emptying the dishwasher, gathering dirty dishes, refilling the dishwasher, wiping down the counter, putting the mail away, sweeping, taking out the recycling, etc.

Suddenly I had a new way to approach writing—a small, easily attainable goal I could latch onto—and it's been SUCH a relief. I'm actually making progress!

So if you're stuck, don't beat yourself up or feel bad you aren't writing 2000 words a day after reading a bunch of tips. Just write 2 sentences. You can do 2 sentences.

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PSA for fanfic writers

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(tweet 1) (tweet 2) (article)

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