writingonesdreams

[writingonesdreams]

I found this really good writing advice and I’m going to try it out with my new writing bc my writing method so far has been ‘perfect every paragraph before moving forward’ and it’s just not practical 😭

[writingonesdreams]

Do family mostly have the same or similar house combos ? Also , what’s your family’s houses with sortinghatchats ?

I don’t think family members necessarily house match, not more than anybody else. But they can LOOK like they do, because *family cultures* have sortings too.

Take the Weasleys. That’s a Gryffindor internal culture. We’ve got political radicals, here for the Cause. During the second Voldemort War, they’re straight-up a *military* family. And when Percy makes the Slytherin call, and puts his own well-being above the family Cause - well, they disown him. When Ron becomes disillusioned with the Cause and leaves Harry, he treats the idea of going back to his parents as horrifyingly laughable. 

Compare that to the Malfoys, with their very Slytherin internal culture. The highest law Draco knows is Lucius (”Wait until my father hears about this!”) And while we get the dark Slyth stereotypes of being superior and selfish, the Malfoys are *so* willing to betray Voldemort (betray the Cause) in order to protect each other. Narcissa only cares about pure-blood supremacy so long as Draco isn’t in danger. 

(and gee no WONDER these families don’t get along. Each one must think the other is INSANE.) 

In more complexly written families, and also in real life, I think it’s very normal for members to learn to *model* the family primary, even if it doesn’t match their own sorting. I am convinced that ACD Sherlock Holmes is only *modeling* all that Ravenclaw (and he’s really a Hufflepuff/Slytherin). But he built himself a Ravenclaw system to match his brother Mycroft. The Umbrella Academy gives us a family where every sibling knows how to model a Gryffindor secondary (if they don’t have one naturally) because a Gryffindor secondary is the thing that’s desired/praised/required in their household. Internally they’re more complicated, but from the outside all those Gryffindor secondaries in a row do look pretty matchy-matchy. 

I can easily say that my own family has a very Hufflepuff internal culture. So, even though we’re not all Puffs - not even close - we can all *model* double Puff really well. (Well. Except my youngest sister. Who is such a double Gryffindor. And yep, that causes family drama.)

Speaking for myself, I know when I was younger and my Gryff primary was burned, it was easy to just adopt the family primary as my own, to the degree that I had trouble knowing where *I* ended and *my mom* began. And while I had a Hufflepuff secondary, it was difficult for little me to really access it, because I’m a bit autism spectrum. (I know, spoilers right? This is such a very neurotypical blog). So I built a Ravenclaw as a kind of bridge, to almost backwards-engineer my Puff secondary. 

These days, my job and my life suit my Gryffinpuff, so my Ravenclaw secondary model gets to remain pretty much a toy, to do - well, to do things like this. :) 

[writingonesdreams]

Thoughts on Ron and Hermione as a ship?

thank you very much for the ask, @thesilverstarling!

well, i'll state my position straight away... book ron and hermione are the best of the canon couples and they'll have a long and extremely happy marriage made rich by great and stalwart love, lust, fun, and faithfulness, rather than held together by duty and couples' therapy like so many readers and authors tend to think.

and i'll state another position straight away, lest i seem like i'm just a fan with blinkers on... i think this even though book!hermione is - by far - the member of the trio [and indeed one of the main characters of the series] i'm least interested in. i like fanon!hermione - perfect and preternaturally good - even less.

but - even though i do think it's ridiculous that jkr has said that she thought ron needed to "become worthy" of hermione [hence his flop era with lavender in half-blood prince] - i don't think that he's the superior one in the partnership either. ron and hermione belong together as equals - which is what they’re set up in the narrative as being from the off - and i hate seeing that undermined.

and i especially hate seeing it undermined by ron's icon status being overlooked. hermione's talents and skills are pretty thoroughly discussed - i'm not denying she gets unfairly bashed by parts of the fandom, but it's nowhere near the same level - but he doesn't get the same treatment...

there are multiple reasons for this: ron's narrative purpose is to be the everyman sidekick, and so he's required by the text to be less special than harry or hermione [the helper-figure]; the amount of aristocracy wank in this fandom means that the weasleys' ordinariness is less appealing to writers than making harry have twenty different lordships and call himself hadrian; the way he's written in the films is literal dogshit; the narrative interrogates ron's flaws - especially his capacity for jealousy - much more intensively than it interrogates either hermione's [cruel, inflexible, meddling] or harry's [reckless, self-absorbed, judgemental]. but one i feel is perhaps more significant than is often appreciated is that ron is such a british character - who draws on so many little culturally-specific quirks - that many of his traits aren't always understood as they're intended to be by international readers.

in particular - as is outlined in this excellent meta by @whinlatter - ron's sense of humour isn't indicative of immaturity or a lack of seriousness. it's the narrative's evidence of him being the most emotionally aware of the trio.

ron is shown throughout the series to understand how both harry and hermione need to have their emotions approached - and i think there's no piece of fanfic which says this better than crocodile heart by @floreatcastellumposts:

That was what she liked most about Ron, she thought vaguely. He was very good at being suitably outraged on your behalf. For Harry, for her, for Neville. That sort of thing mattered, when you were hurt or embarrassed or wronged in some way. You needed to have someone else on your side, to be as emotional as you felt, maybe even more so, so that you might feel a bit more normal. It was very decent of him, and she was not sure he realised he did it.

ron's inherent emotional awareness is an enormous source of comfort to other people. he does the work which isn't flashy or special - he makes tea and tells jokes and is just there - but which is needed in healthy human relationships far more frequently than a willingness to fight to the death for the other person.

[as an aside, this normality - even though i think it's assumed rather than demonstrated by the text - is also what ginny provides for harry. and so i do find the little corner of the fandom which thinks that hinny are a good couple but romione aren't… unusual.]

but let's look at some specific reasons why ron and hermione belong together:

their communication styles mesh perfectly. ron is the only person hermione knows who feeds her love of being challenged and debated, and who is able to engage in this way of communicating without becoming irate when she refuses to back down. ron's good at picking his battles, but he's also good at recognising that hermione's tendency to argue isn't intended to be confrontational a lot of the time - it's just the way she works through feelings and problems. he's far more easy-going about her tendency to nag, interrupt, try to provoke arguments, or speak condescendingly than he's given credit for - and hermione evidently respects this, since when he does tell her not to push a situation [like when she's trying to needle harry into talking about sirius], she listens to him.

that ron and hermione's tendency to bicker is taken by fans to be a bad thing is because it's something harry - from whose perspective the narrative is written - doesn't understand. harry is extremely conflict-avoidant - he tends to take being pushed on his views and opinions to be insulting, and he has a tendency to assume that he's right which is just as profound as hermione's. he and ginny communicate not by debating, but by ginny having no time for his rigidity and refusing to indulge it - but ron and hermione bickering about everything isn't a negative thing within their specific emotional dynamic.

[as another aside, this glaring chasm in communication styles is why the canonical harry and hermione would be a disaster as a couple.]

they each provide validation the other needs. it's clear - reading between the lines - that hermione is a tremendously lonely person. the friendlessness of her initial few weeks at hogwarts seems to be a continuation of her experience as a child, and - outside of ron and harry - that friendlessness endures through her schooldays. i'm always struck by the fact that, when she falls out with ron in prisoner of azkaban, she has no-one else except hagrid to spend time with, and that this is only avoided in half-blood prince because harry decides not to freeze her out. i don't think her friendship with ginny is anywhere near as close as fanon seems to imply, nor do i think that she's anywhere near as close to neville (not least because she is so condescending to him] as she's often written to be.

and this loneliness seems to stretch beyond hogwarts. the absence of hermione's parents from the narrative is - in a doylist sense - clearly just a device to maximise time with the trio all together, but the watsonian reading is that she doesn't have a particularly good relationship with them. hermione's obviously upper-middle-class background - the name! the skiing! the holidays in the south of france! - can be presumed, i think, to come with a series of expectations from her parents which she constantly feels she's not entirely meeting, particularly expectations attached to academic success.

[her parents - were she a muggle child - would undoubtedly have ambitions for her to attend an elite university and then go into a prestigious career. tertiary education of the type they're familiar with doesn't seem to exist in the wizarding world and this, alongside all the other divides between the magical and muggle worlds which contribute to the distance between them, would be one very obvious area in which she felt the need to prove the value of her true self to them.]

ron, too, has quite a difficult relationship with his position in the family - voldemort's locket is obviously lying about a lot of things, but it isn't wrong to point out that he seems to receive considerably less of his mother's emotional attention than some of his siblings - and he too is constrained by expectations which he doesn't know how to explain he has no interest in - especially molly's desire for her sons to achieve top grades and go into the ministry.

he also suffers while at hogwarts from being "harry potter's best friend". harry never properly appreciates this, but hermione does - she recognises ron's jealousy and never allows harry to minimise it [and she and ron are very much aligned on having no respect for harry's saviour and martyr complexes]; she appreciates ron's strengths [above all his kindness and his sense of humour] and makes him feel as though he's achieved things with them. and ron does the same for her - he's hugely observant when it comes to her, and he constantly challenges and defends her.

[him agreeing with snape that she's a know-it-all in the film version of prisoner of azkaban is a crime.]

the two of them clearly spend a lot of time together one-on-one while harry's involved in his various shenanigans [including outside of school - hermione has often arrived at the burrow days or even weeks before harry, and they seem to write to each other frequently when apart]. they do this within a relationship which is fundamentally equal. one issue with hinny is that, post-war, harry is going to have to get used to seeing ginny as a peer, rather than as someone he has to protect. but ron and hermione never have that issue - equality is baked into their relationship from the off.

because, to be quite frank, fandom overstates the role that jealousy plays in their relationship. ron certainly doesn't acquit himself well when it comes to hermione's relationship with viktor krum [it's because he's bi and doesn't know it yet, i fear...], and a tendency to externalise his insecurity into trying to make others also feel insecure is one of his primary negative traits. [hermione does this too, via her patented lofty voice when she's trying to condescend to people.]

but this is often taken as the initial red flag for how the relationship would crash and burn, and ron's toxic jealousy is often exaggerated into the trigger for him being emotionally and physically violent towards hermione.

[which, frequently, seems to drive her into the arms of either draco malfoy or severus snape… who are, of course, the first people we think of when we hear the words "not prone to jealousy"...]

but i think it's important to point out a couple of things here.

firstly, hermione evidently regards ron's jealousy as silly - she's upset by it, yes, but she's upset because she wanted him to ask her out. she doesn't think he's being possessive, she thinks he's being stupid.

secondly, hermione is equally as pettily jealous over ron's crush on fleur delacour and relationship with lavender brown, and she behaves just as cruelly when it comes to lavender as ron does when it comes to krum - the narrative just treats her actions as more sympathetic, both because harry dislikes lavender too, and because, by that point in the series, jkr has become less willing to criticise her.

but we do need to bear in mind that, outside of this teenage pettiness, ron is never jealous of hermione over things which matter. he's never jealous of her intelligence or competence or ambition or success [indeed, he defends her constantly from attacks designed to undermine her in these areas]. for someone who struggles with being overshadowed by harry, he is never upset at being overshadowed by her, and he's clearly going to be happy to support her in any of the career ambitions she can be written as having post-war.

and, on this point, I do think it's worth interrogating why so many readers still seem to feel uncomfortable with the idea of ron and hermione having a dynamic where she's the more "powerful" one - it's always a bit trite to say "but what if the genders were reversed?", but actually that's not irrelevant here... if hermione ends up taking the ministry by storm and ron becomes a stay-at-home dad or has a job which is just to pay the bills, what, precisely, is wrong with that? why, precisely, should hermione regard ron making that choice for himself as a negative thing? hermione so often seems to leave ron in fanfiction because of a lack of ambition, but in canon she's shown to not particularly care if ron and harry do the bare minimum when it comes to studying etc. she nags them to do their work so they can pass their exams and they don't get in trouble. she doesn't nag them to do it to the same standard or with the same diligence that she would.

and, actually, i think that ron being less ambitious than hermione is something which is key to how well they work. because ron provides not only emotional support, but emotional clarity.

hermione is shown throughout canon to - just as harry does - have a tendency to become obsessive to the detriment of her own health. she's also often - as harry is - emotionally or intellectually inflexible, and she finds it hard to move on when what she feels or believes is right is proven to be wrong. both she and harry are micro-thinkers, who lean towards knee-jerk assumptions and stubborn convictions.

more positively, hermione has a tendency towards total, unshakeable loyalty. this is one of her really underappreciated traits, and actually contributes a lot more to her role in the series than her intellect, but it also comes with the negative that she can have a slightly hagrid-ish leaning towards blind trust, especially in authority figures, which is always interesting to think about.

but ron is a big-picture thinker [it's why he's so good at chess] and a pragmatist. he's the least obsessive. he's the one least likely to act on gut instinct [and, therefore, the hardest to fool - i think it's worth emphasising that he clocks that tom riddle's diary is tricking harry immediately, whereas harry feels an immediate kinship with riddle because he's an orphan and hermione trusts him because he was head boy]. he's the least righteous of the three, and the one who demonstrates that faith and loyalty are more often choices rather than innate powers, and that sometimes these choices will lead to outcomes which are bad or hard.

and these traits contribute to aspects of his character which are underappreciated. ron worries about hermione making herself ill during exams, or when she's using the time-turner, and makes an effort to get her to set healthy boundaries and redirect her anxiety. ron stands on a broken leg in front of sirius and goes into the forest to fight aragog not out of inherent righteousness, but out of choice. ron takes over the burden of preparing buckbeak's defence when it's clear hermione is approaching burnout, as a way of atoning for his role in causing her distress which actually has a tangible impact on her wellbeing. ron is completely right that harry hasn't done any long-term planning for the horcrux hunt, and his anger does force harry to tighten up after he leaves the trio. ron has a clear head in the middle of battle. ron makes harry and hermione laugh. ron is unafraid of human emotion. ron arrests harry's tendency to brood over the little things by looking at the bigger picture. ron will always come back.

ron is bringing his politician wife regular cups of tea and making sure she doesn't work all night. he's helping his lawyer wife to feel less upset over losing one case by reminding her that she's won ten others. he's noticing stress creeping in and whirling her off for a dirty weekend or a takeaway on the sofa. he's teaching his daughter to be proud of her ambition and his son to treat women as equals and both of his children that wanting to be the most famous person in the world isn't really all it's cracked up to be and that all you can do when you fuck up is apologise and try to do better. he's making hermione smile on the worst days of her life and helping her strategise her long-term goals when she gets stuck on the short-term ones and telling her straight when she needs to get it together. he's seeing a misogynistic head of department call hermione a "silly little girl" and - exactly as he did aged fourteen when a teacher called her an "insufferable know-it-all" - choosing to tell him exactly what he thinks of that.

ron is the ultimate wife guy with the ultimate wife. he's a very lucky man, and hermione is a very lucky lady.

[writingonesdreams]

Editing Your Novel Part 2: The Plot Pass

Okay, it's finally time to edit. You've got all your materials sorted, it's time to dive right in. You want to start with the big edits first, aka the plot pass.

Now listen. You're going to want to linger and fix those little bits of grammar or dialogue, and I know it's so hard not to, but letting yourself get off-track might mean wasting hours on a scene you realize later you have to delete. Fix a few spelling errors, leave a note, and stay plot-focused.

Making Sense (Of the Plot)

In the plot pass, you're asking yourself some basic questions:

Do events follow a clear order? - When you're getting everything down on the page for the first time, scenes might get jumbled up or events might not have clear causes. Maybe you have a car crashing into the cafe pages before, but in a writing haze, you wrote your main characters having a casual conversation moments later. If the bad guy beats your heroes to treasure, is it clear how they got there? (Not everyone can be Yzma.)

Do circumstances feel contrived? If there are any problems that can be solved by your characters sitting down and talking to each other, it may be better to lean into their motivation for not speaking to each other, rather than coming up with bad romcom scenarios. If the plot can be resolved by the mcguffin the grandma had the whole time, it might be better to make finding that mcguffin part of the plot instead.

It doesn't have to be perfect, and you don't have to reinvent the wheel. If someone gets bitten by a werewolf, it's perfectly fine to have them turn into one at the worst possible moment. When it comes to contrived, you're looking for problems that seem easy to solve and look for more interesting ways to complicate them.

Are your character motivations consistent to the characters throughout the story? - They can change throughout the story, but character motivations do need to be linked to the actions they take. An out-of-nowhere betrayal is way more satisfying if you lay the groundwork for it ahead of time.

Take a moment to list out the motivations of the characters in a scene you're not quite sure of can help you figure how to fix it. Having an outline helps with this a lot!

Are you following an "if... then" format? - My brain doesn't work like this when I'm writing, because as a writer you know how A got to Z, and it seems (in your head) obvious how it happened. This is where my scene card outline come in handy, because I can look at my overview of what should happen and why, and then compare it to what actually happens in the scene. I've discovered so many threads I forgot to connect that way, like why a character had a certain device (I forgot to have him pick it up two scenes earlier), or adding a few simmering dialogue bits that make the big fight pay off much better.

Can you fix the "Because the Plot Demands It" scenes? - Look, sometimes your character needs to be in that haunted house to see that damn ghost, but your character isn't the type to set foot in such a place. It's really easy, especially in the first draft, to contrive a way in there (she took a wrong turn on her way to grandma's!), but retooling these scenes to connect them to the characters motivations and needs is the way to go. The main character doesn't want to go into that obviously cursed place, but her best friend hasn't shown up for school in three days and now she's crying for help from the second floor window. Your character's strong desire to be there for her friend is a much better way to get her into that house.

This is not always easy - it took me six fricken drafts to realize a critical part of a character's motivation was because his father blamed him for his mother's death - but it is going to be worth putting in the work to hammer down.

Do you have a solid timeline? - This might not seem as important, but it's super easy to accidentally fit two weeks worth of activities in three days. Make sure you have that on reference, even if you don't mention it in the book. Also make sure to gauge your distances if your characters are on a trip, because if you do accidentally say it takes two hours to drive from Seattle to Spokane instead of five, someone will dive down your throat for it. Not me. Just someone.

Okay, maybe me. Slow down, you maniacs.

Next post we'll dive into the structure pass. See you then!

[writingonesdreams]

Editing Part ????: Final Steps (That You'll Repeat)

HI THIS POST WAS SUPPOSED TO GO UP IN JANUARY. Uuuh things. Are happening. In the US. Alas.

ANYWAY, to wrap up our editing tips. Some of this you'll do on your own, some of it you'll need feedback on, a lot of it is going back and forth between various edits. It is a process.

Tone and Voice

In review, is your character's voice consistent? Do they remain solid as a character, or do they wildly change in how they speak and act in the middle of the book for no reason?

When it comes to tone, are you writing with a consistently used vocabulary and structure? I'm not talking about dialogue - does your story feel the same, no matter if it's in third person or first?

A tonal shift or word change might happen if you've been working a long time on a project, and that's just a matter of going back through the book to make sure things match up.

Tension and Pacing

Does the action rise and fall naturally? Are your characters given room to breathe when appropriate?

Have you resolved (or addressed) all your subplots? Did you leave any romance or relationships dangling? Are there any chunks of your book that feel like a side-quest that doesn't contribute to the rest of the plot?

How is your scene pacing? Like your book, your scenes can't be 100% tension - they need to rise and fall. Fights and action should build naturally. If you're dropping a character into a situation with no foreshadowing, or if they obtain some new nifty power without really earning it, you might be throwing the pacing off.

Again, this just takes going back over to see what little things you need to set up to make the pay-off worth it.

Line Edits

Hopefully you've saved this for last, I know you won't, I know I won't, but fiddling with the language is going to be better done at the very end. Look out for:

Overused Words and Phrases - I find with each project, I become overly fond of one particular word. It's useful and fantastic until it pops up a little too often, and then I need to work on changing it up. Same with phrases - if you're brain is like mind, it'll find a neat little turn of phrase and repeat that six or eight times when you only needed it once.

Hedging Words - Almost, nearly, not quite, seems, appears, etc - these words are perfectly fine in academic writing, but they weaken your descriptive work. Instead of saying "he almost hit me" for example, describe the motion and the character's reaction. If someone seems upset, how can you describe that through their body language?

Dialogue Tags - You can use fun dialogue tags, and you don't have to delete every -ly abverb attached to "said." However, as boring as it seems, keeping it simple with mostly using "said" and "replied" will do most of the job.

Re-Checking Sentence Structure - If all your sentences within a paragraph follow the same structure, your reader is likely to start to skim. Change things up with shorter sentences paired with longer ones. Chunk actions scenes with short, punchy sentences, make sure descriptive paragraphs don't have sentences that go on for way too long.

Feedback

There's no easy way to find a good critique partner. I wish there was. You can and should join writer's groups and offer exchanges, be they online or in person. Sometimes you can love someone's work, but you don't mess with them as a critique partner. It happens, keep trying.

When you do find a critique partner, it's always good to give them guidance on what you're looking for. Some good questions:

Pacing - When did they put the story down? Why?

Consistency - Was anything confusing? Did the character's choices make sense?

Plot - Where there any twists that were too obvious? Did the stakes feel important? Was the plot satisfying?

A Note on "Predictable" Plot

There is a consistent argument about predictive plots versus originality, but thinking too hard about it may lead you astray. Certain genres have expectations - cosy murders will be solved, romance will end with the leads getting together, etc. Readers often go into stories wanting some predictability, because it's the journey of the story that matters the most. Making sure the story is engaging to read is far more important than trying to be original.

That said, you'll find in your second and third drafts that you will be able to put your own design on familiar stories. Treading familiar ground in the first draft is common, but when taking another crack of it, you can raise the stakes and make that ending much more satisfying.

Good luck!

[writingonesdreams]

5 Tiny Writing Tips That Aren’t Talked About Enough (but work for me)

These are some lowkey underrated tips I’ve seen floating around writing communities — the kind that don’t get flashy attention but seriously changed how I write.

1. Put “he/she/they” at the start of the sentence less often.

Try switching up your sentence rhythm. Instead of

“She walked to the window,”

try

“The window creaked open under her touch.”

Keeps it fresh and stops the paragraph from sounding like a checklist.

2. Don’t describe everything — describe what matters.

Instead of listing every detail in a room, pick 2–3 objects that say something.

“A half-drunk mug of tea and a knife on the table”

sets a way stronger tone than

“There was a wooden table, two chairs, and a shelf.”

3. Use beats instead of dialogue tags sometimes.

Instead of:

"I'm fine," she said.

Try:

"I'm fine." She wiped her hands on her skirt.

It helps shows emotion, and movement.

4. Write your first draft like no one will ever read it.

No pressure. No perfection. Just vibes. The point of draft one is to exist. Let it be messy and weird — future you will thank you for at least something to edit.

5. When stuck, ask: “What’s the most fun thing that could happen next?”

Not logical. Not realistic. FUN. It doesn’t have to stay — but chasing excitement can blast through writer’s block and give you ideas you actually want to write.

What’s a tip that unexpectedly helped with your writing? Let me know!! 🍒

[writingonesdreams]

Hey, fannish people and writers!!!

[writingonesdreams]

What are the pros and cons of self publishing, choosing a small press, or going down the trad publishing route?

Every writer’s journey to publication is unique, and there’s no “right” path that works for everyone. The publishing landscape has transformed dramatically in the past decade. There are more options available to writers than ever before, but with those options comes the challenge of knowing which is best for you.

Some writers dream of seeing their books in major bookstores and working with prestigious publishing houses. Others value creative control and quick time-to-market. Others find their sweet spot with indie presses that specialise in their genre or style and have captive audiences tailored for their work.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of each path so you can make the choice that best serves your work and your goals as an author.

Traditional publishing

Traditional publishing refers to the established model where publishing houses (from the Big 5 and their imprints, as well as mid-sized independent publishers) take on the financial risk and responsibility of bringing your book to market.

In this model, publishers invest their resources, expertise, and industry connections to get your book into the hands of readers. They handle everything from editing and design to printing, distribution, and some of the marketing (authors will always be expected to do some marketing themselves), all without any upfront cost to the author. In return, they take a larger share of the book’s profits and maintain certain rights to the work.

Pros:

No upfront costs to the author.

Professional editing, cover design, and marketing support.

Industry expertise and connections.

Distribution networks and bookstore relationships.

Prestige and credibility.

Advances against royalties.

Better chance at major literary awards and reviews.

Cons:

Very competitive to break into.

Long timeline (often 18-24 months from acceptance to publication).

Less creative control.

Lower royalty percentages dependent on format (typically 5%-8% for paperbacks and 15% for hardback).

Limited input on cover design and marketing strategies.

Rights typically controlled by publisher.

May need a literary agent first (another competitive step).

Small press publishing

While small press publishing is still a form of traditional publishing, I’ve given this a separate entry, as there are some differences in approach, as well as different pros and cons.

Small presses typically publish a smaller number of books a year compared to the thousands released by larger publishers and often focus on specific genres, styles, or communities. Because of this, many have built devoted followings among readers who trust their editorial vision.

They combine some of the professional support of traditional publishing with a more intimate, hands-on approach that many authors find appealing. While they may lack the resources of larger houses, small presses often make up for it with passion, dedication, and a willingness to take risks on unique or experimental works that might not find a home with major publishers.

Pros:

More personalised attention.

Faster publication timeline than larger publishers.

Often more open to experimental work.

May not require an agent.

May offer more creative input than traditional publishing.

Community-focused approach.

Often more flexible with rights.

Cons:

Limited marketing budgets.

Smaller advances (if any).

More limited distribution.

May lack the resources of larger publishers.

Potential stability concerns.

Varying levels of professional support.

May still be quite competitive.

Self-publishing

Self-publishing gives authors complete control over their work but requires them to manage (and fund) all aspects of publication. It has grown dramatically over the last decade or so and become a legitimate and increasingly popular path to publication.

In a self-publishing model, the author takes on the role of both creator and publisher, maintaining complete control over their work while shouldering all responsibilities for bringing the book to market. This means managing everything from editing and cover design to marketing and distribution—either handling these tasks personally or hiring professionals to help.

Modern self-publishing platforms like Amazon KDP, Ingram Spark, and Draft2Digital have made it easier than ever to reach readers directly. However, this independence comes with the requirement that you understand the business side of publishing and usually needs upfront investment to produce a professional-quality book.

Pros:

Complete creative control.

Higher royalty rates (up to 70% for ebooks).

Faster time to market.

Keep all rights.

Direct access to sales data.

Freedom to experiment.

No gatekeepers.

Can update content easily.

Multiple revenue streams possible.

Cons:

Upfront costs (editing, cover design, marketing).

No advance payment.

Must manage all aspects of publication.

Learning curve for business aspects.

More difficult to get into bookstores.

May face stigma in some circles.

Less likely to get major reviews or awards.

Need to build credibility independently.

Avenues to avoid

While both traditional and self-publishing are valid choices for authors on their writing journeys, there are some avenues that are best avoided. I am, of course, talking about vanity presses.

Vanity presses are companies that charge authors to publish their books while masquerading as traditional publishers or as “hybrid” publishers for those who prefer self-publication. They often make grand promises about marketing, distribution, and sales but deliver poor-quality products at inflated prices.

These companies prey on authors’ dreams, charging thousands for services that could be obtained independently at a fraction of the cost. Unlike legitimate self-publishing services, vanity presses will often try to keep rights to your work while providing minimal value in return.

There are some great resources available online to help you spot a vanity press, but I can highly recommend the Writer Beware blog, supported by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. They keep a comprehensive and fact-checked list of vanity and hybrid presses, as well as several other common writer scams to help you navigate that particular minefield.

Making your choice

Consider these factors when choosing your path:

Your financial situation and risk tolerance.

How much creative control matters to you.

Your marketing and business capabilities.

Your timeline goals.

Your specific genre and market.

Your long-term career goals.

Ultimately, it all comes down to choosing the path that best serves your unique outlook and targets. Start by honestly assessing your goals, resources, and your specific desires. Consider speaking with other authors who have experience with different publishing routes, particularly those writing in your genre. Join writing communities and attend industry events (virtual or in-person) to learn more about each path firsthand.

Whatever route you choose, focus first on creating the best possible book. A well-crafted story that connects with readers will find its audience, regardless of how it reaches them. The “best” publishing path is the one that aligns with your vision, resources, and goals as an author.

[writingonesdreams]

[writingonesdreams]

Things that make me feel like i’m accidentally falling in love (help) and you can use for your OC

›› when they text “home?” and it just means “i wanna be where you are” and now i’m staring at my phone like an idiot

›› hearing them laugh at something dumb i said and it’s like. oh. okay. my heart does that now.

›› when they do that thing where they remember the tiny, stupid detail i mentioned once like 3 weeks ago and bring it up casually like it didn’t just ruin me

›› forehead kisses. hate them. literally short-circuits my brain. why does that feel more intimate than anything else ever

›› when they’re driving and just reach over to hold your hand??? for no reason??? like chill out i’m trying not to fall in love here

›› saying my name real soft like it’s important. stop that.

›› bringing me snacks when i’m sad. like not even asking. just showing up like “here” and suddenly i believe in soulmates??

›› sharing headphones. yes it’s 2009 again. yes it’s still romantic. no i will not be taking questions.

›› when they notice you’re quiet and just sit with you without trying to fix it. like. that’s intimacy right there.

›› randomly texting “made me think of you” with a meme or a song or whatever. like sir. don’t.

›› accidentally brushing hands and then pretending it didn’t happen but both of you definitely felt it like a spark and now everything’s weird

›› when they say “text me when you’re home safe” and you do and they actually reply like “thank you.” like. okay now i wanna kiss you

›› when they look at you like they’re trying not to look at you. like you’re dangerous or sacred or both

›› helping you zip your jacket. pick something up for you. adjust your necklace. the casual intimacy??? it’s killing me softly

›› when they get all soft and tired and start talking about stuff they never talk about and it’s like they forgot to put their armor on for once

›› calling you out gently. like “you always do this when you’re scared” and it’s not even mean, it’s just true, and now you’re rethinking your entire personality

›› making plans with you and actually showing up. bare minimum? yes. still devastatingly attractive? also yes.

›› when they say “i like being around you” all lowkey like it’s not the most romantic thing anyone’s ever said

›› when they offer you their hoodie or jacket and you pretend you’re not dying about it

›› sitting next to you, knee to knee, arm to arm, and neither of you move away

›› just. looking at you. and not looking away. and not saying anything. and now you can’t breathe.

[writingonesdreams]

Responses to “why do you always push people away?”

✧ "because leaving first hurts less than waiting to be left."

✧ "because people don’t stay. they never do."

✧ "because if you knew the real me, you wouldn’t even be asking."

✧ "habit, i guess."

✧ "because I’m scared you’ll figure out I’m not worth staying for."

✧ "do we really have to do the therapy talk right now?"

✧ "it’s just easier this way. less mess. fewer pieces to clean up."

✧ "i don’t push people away. they just get tired of reaching."

✧ "because i like being in control of who leaves me."

✧ "i don't know. trauma? probably trauma."

✧ "because being close means being seen and i’d rather be invisible than disappointed."

✧ "some people are born to be held. i think i was born to be temporary."

✧ "oh. so you noticed that, huh?"

✧ "because i learned early on not to trust the good things."

✧ "what kind of answer are you looking for? the poetic kind or the ugly truth?"

✧ "i don’t know how to let people care about me without feeling like i owe them something."

✧ "because it’s safer when no one knows where the soft spots are."

✧ "people leave either way. might as well speed it up."

✧ "because maybe if i push you away and you still come back… i’ll finally believe you mean it."

[writingonesdreams]

Responses to “why do you like me?”

♒︎ "ugh, don’t make me say it out loud."

♒︎ "i don’t know, you’re just... you."

♒︎ "you laugh at my dumb jokes like they’re clever."

♒︎ "because you’re the only person who makes silence feel okay."

♒︎ "you make me feel like maybe i’m not that weird after all."

♒︎ "do you want a cute answer or the real one?"

♒︎ "because even when i hate everyone, i still want to tell you about it."

♒︎ "you make things less terrible."

♒︎ "shrugs aggressively while blushing and avoiding eye contact"

♒︎ "because you noticed the parts of me i thought were invisible."

♒︎ "i have no idea. and it’s terrifying. and i kind of love it."

♒︎ "it’s not one thing. it’s all the tiny things. like the way you say my name."

♒︎ "i wish i knew. then maybe i could stop."

♒︎ "because you look at me like you see the version of me i want to be."

♒︎ "it’s not logical. it’s very dumb, actually. but here we are."

[writingonesdreams]

Writing is like telling a secret to the page. You sit down, and it’s just you and the words, no one to judge, no one to interrupt. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy or if you don’t know where it’s going, most of the time, you won’t. But that’s the thing about writing, you don’t need to know. You just start, and somewhere in the middle of the mess, something true comes out. Maybe it’s not what you thought you wanted to say, but it’s real, and that’s the point.

[writingonesdreams]

Writing is like telling a secret to the page. You sit down, and it’s just you and the words, no one to judge, no one to interrupt. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy or if you don’t know where it’s going, most of the time, you won’t. But that’s the thing about writing, you don’t need to know. You just start, and somewhere in the middle of the mess, something true comes out. Maybe it’s not what you thought you wanted to say, but it’s real, and that’s the point.

[writingonesdreams]

Villain Origin Dialogue Prompts

༄ I begged them not to break me and they called it weakness.

༄ All I ever wanted was peace. They gave me war instead.

༄ If I’m the villain, it’s because no one saved me when I was the victim.

༄ You don’t get to hurt me and then be afraid of who I became.

༄ I stopped trying to be good when I realized no one noticed either way.

༄ They made me feel small. Now they’ll feel me coming.

༄ I was soft once. It almost killed me.

༄ This isn’t revenge. It’s balance.

༄ They said I was too much. Now I am.

༄ You can only be loyal so long to people who treat you like a knife.

༄ They made me the monster. I just gave them what they asked for.

༄ I used to dream of saving the world. Now I dream of making it pay.

༄ I didn’t change. I just stopped pretending.

༄ They said I was dangerous. I decided to prove them right.

༄ If I’m cruel, it’s because kindness nearly killed me.

༄ This is what happens when you corner someone who has nothing left to lose.

[writingonesdreams]

Character Arcs I’m Tired of Faking Enthusiasm For...

✧ Not every character needs to become a better person. Some of them should just become more competent at being terrible. That’s growth too.

✧ Please stop giving us the “emotionally repressed character learns to love” arc where “love” = doing everything for the other person. That’s not growth, that’s codependence in a nice coat.

✧ I want to see someone go from “I must prove myself” to “actually, your approval means nothing and I will now do crimes for fun.”

✧ Characters who don’t change in personality or beliefs but slowly gain the tools and safety to stop apologizing for being exactly who they are.

✧ Characters whose whole arc is realizing they don’t want power, they want peace, and walk the hell away from the plot like it’s a cursed game of Monopoly.

✧ Characters who never had a breakdown because they didn’t have time, and their arc is literally just finally allowing themselves to fall apart.

✧ Give me someone who’s super idealistic at the start, gets crushed by the world, but instead of going evil… they just get smarter and pettier.

✧ Characters who don’t realize they were the villain until someone quietly says “you hurt me” and it destroys them more than any monologue ever could.

✧ More arcs that don’t end in redemption. Just recognition. “Yeah, I did awful things. That’s part of me. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m changing anyway.”

✧ Or arcs that start with “I will do anything to be loved” and end with “I love myself enough to stop begging.”

[writingonesdreams]

Writing isn't the hobby. Being insane about little fake people is the hobby. Writing is just the only outlet i have for that