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“This Chapter Is Too Difficult To Write!” Local Writer Says About Every Chapter.

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Anybody else got that Evergiven sized writers block

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Writing really goes one of two ways:

1. Write 3k words in 30 minutes

2. Takes 3 hours to write 3 sentences

There is no in between

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me writing the worst paragraph of my life knowing that a sexier, more hydrated version of me will fix it later

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How do i Plot a Book?

1. Start with an Idea:

Begin with a clear idea or concept for your story. This could be a theme, a character, a setting, or a unique scenario.

2. Outline Your Plot Structure:

- Introduction: Set the stage by introducing your main character, the setting, and the initial situation.

- Inciting Incident: Present a problem or event that disrupts the status quo and sets the story in motion.

- Rising Action: Develop the plot by introducing conflicts, challenges, and obstacles that the protagonist faces.

- Climax: Reach the story's highest point of tension and conflict where the protagonist confronts the main challenge.

- Falling Action: Address the aftermath of the climax, tying up loose ends and resolving subplots.

- Conclusion: Provide a resolution to the main conflict, wrap up the story, and show the character's growth or change.

3. Create Well-Defined Characters:

- Develop your main character (protagonist) with clear goals, motivations, and flaws.

- Introduce supporting characters with distinct personalities and roles in the story.

4. World-Building:

If your story is set in a unique or fictional world, develop the setting, rules, and details necessary for readers to understand the environment.

5. Conflict and Stakes:

Ensure that your story has compelling conflicts that drive the plot forward. Make the stakes clear to the reader.

6. Subplots:

Develop subplots that add depth and complexity to your story and intersect with the main plot at various points.

7. Foreshadowing:

Use foreshadowing to hint at future events and create suspense.

8. Pacing:

Balance action, dialogue, and introspection to control the pace of your story. Speed up or slow down as needed for dramatic effect.

9. Themes and Messages:

Consider the themes or messages you want to convey through your story and how the plot can reflect them.

10. Outline Chapter by Chapter:

Create a chapter-by-chapter outline that details what will happen in each section of your book. This doesn't need to be overly detailed, but it can serve as a roadmap.

11. Writing and Revising:

Start writing your book based on your outline. Be open to changes and revisions as your story develops.

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A WIP can sit dormant for a year and a half and still be happy to see you.

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Can we please all agree to stop framing modern trends as objectively good writing advice? I'm not trying to say that there aren't ways to give people pointers on their stories, but just because a style of writing has fallen out of fashion doesn't mean it's bad.

I am primarily referring to people saying antagonists need to be morally gray and to people who say you "shouldn't rhyme poetry" full stop. Sure, modern trends don't align with those things, but are you telling me Sauron isn't a good villain? That Golding's translation of The Metamorphoses is bad?

It's genuinely okay to try to help people with their stories when they ask, but pretending like modern trends are the only things that could possibly work in writing just isn't it.

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writing tip #3557:

if you write a little every day, you will have written a little every day

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crying and sobbing y'all when people said that you only add scenes that advance the plot they didn't JUST mean the overarching plot. they meant the plot of the book... entirely. like a conversation between two friends can advance the plot by characterizing them and grounding them with a meaningful relationship. if your book doesn't have "filler" it's missing emotional beats. which are plot. which are important. fun and whimsy aren't mutually exclusive from what "needs" to happen in your book. the advice isn't bad it's just taken too literally stop come back.

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We've met before

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I love soulmates but also this-

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You know what? I believe that you can finish your writing project. I believe you can update your fic. I believe you can work on your WIP. I don't care if you think it's cringy or bad. I don't care if we've never met or interacted in our whole lives. I believe in you. Keep going - you've got this.

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Literally cannot emphasize enough that my #1 writing advice is to stop being afraid. Stop being afraid of sounding too cringe, or too stupid, or too horrifying, or too horny, or too weird, or too much, or too little, or too you. You need to put your entire pussy into your art. Sure, it won't be to everyone's tastes, but if you keep yourself to the blandest tamest safest roads possible you will be of no one's tastes, not even yours.

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The only thing I can say about writing right now is that you don’t need to polish or even finish everything you write. Unfinished works hold value just as intrinsically as finished ones; if finishing a project holds no appeal, move on. Maybe one day you’ll return to it, find an idea to nurture and raise. Maybe you’ll never look at it again, but the words were still written. The sentences were crafted. This unfinished thing is a sketch, then, forgotten in the depths of your sketchbook; why should we hold writers to different standards than other artists? Play around and have fun. Finish projects if you want to; move on if you don’t. Don’t guilt yourself over something with no moral bearing. Just write.

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Let yourself suck. Write things that are bad, and let them be bad. Get used to the thought that you won’t always produce greatness; perfection is the nemesis of done. If your writing is cluttered or clumsy, let it be. Keep going, let it be a mess. Write notes if you need to, but do not let your momentum slip until you are done. “Perfection” is an unachievable concept. Masterful is attainable, but to become a master you must become intimately acquainted with failure. Look at that clumsy sentence, which you meant to be elegant but came out hamfisted and blunt. Look at it again. It is not perfect, but it is there. It’s there, and even as something that does not meet your standards, it can be worked with. You can tweak it, edit it, mess with it until it works. Writing is not an easy task; it is an art borne of years of practice, years of failure, years of editing and staring at a sentence that would not have been possible three months ago and smiling, grinning as you realize that failure is an option, not because it gives you an out, but because it opens other doors, gives you other avenues to explore.

Writing is an art; let it be that way. Let it be messy, play with it, and you will see improvement. It will be slow, and there will be days when you’re convinced you’ll never improve. But I promise you, you will. It will be hard, and frustrating, but it will be worth it.

Keep going; I believe in you.

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Telling myself this every day here's a meme