darklight077 - Tumblr blog

[darklight077]

Hello!

Thank you so much for your blog, it's helped me a lot in writing my fics. It's definitely one of the best fic writing resources out there.

Onto my question: do you have any advice on how to write more quickly + not hate everything I write?

I do writing sprints a lot of the time but I can't help but feel as if my writing has gotten worse, and I feel guilty cutting down my work because I struggle to meet the daily word count goal I have for myself (600 words a day).

I'm about a quarter of the way through my longfic, and I feel like I've just gotten worse and worse at writing. I still love the story, but my writing feels clunkier and flows less smoothly.

Thank you!

I'm glad you're enjoying the channel! It's getting late where I am rn but sleepy Cora is gonna try to answer your ask anyway.

First of all, I'd just like to say that 600 words a day is a lot! (And so is being a whole quarter through your story btw.) While I have won NaNoWriMo a few times (a challenge that involves writing 50k+ words in a month) it's definitely not sustainable for me. Recently, I've struggled to just average more than 300 words in a day. Unfortunately I'm still coming to terms with my chronic pain and the limits it places on my ability to write fic. 600 words a day on average is just... not possible for me.

However, something I have been doing lately is to learn what my current capacity is, which seems to be 300 words a day on average. Note: on average! A lot of days, I don't even write that much, but some days I make up for it by writing a lot. As I say in this short, good writing goals are like persistence hunting. You might find yourself more motivated if you set monthly or quarterly word count goals rather than daily ones. Then it's not a big deal if you write very little or not at all on some days, since you'll still have plenty of time to catch up.

(Also if you tell a non-writer that you wrote like 300 words in a day, they'll probably be impressed!)

So TL;DR: focus on learning what your capacity is, and then set your writing goals around that. Also focus on writing goals that cover a longer period than a day to allow wiggle room for your erratic progress.

Now, onto writing sprints.

I have the flavour of autism that gives me a processing speed deficiency, meaning that it takes me longer to Do Things than the average (usually allistic) person. This means that I'm a slow drafter, but also a more methodical, intentional one.

This means that writing sprints aren't all that helpful to me. I need to ponder every sentence and detail as I write it, because I already figured out the plot points and character arcs in my outline. "Just get the story down in the first draft" doesn't work for me because I already did that. In a highly detailed outline.

So writing sprints may be what's causing you to feel like your writing is getting worse. There are two perspectives on this:

First drafts are supposed to be bad, and writing sprints are supposed to just help you get them done so you can fix them later. If you were previously a slow, methodical drafter, then switching to a strategy that focuses on quantity over quality is going to make for rougher drafts, and thus make you feel like your writing is worse. That's okay though, because you can edit a rough draft. You can't edit a blank page.

Writing sprints are sabotaging the quality of your drafts, so instead, you can ditch them and focus on the slow-and-steady drafting approach. It'll make for less editing time in the long run, and you'll feel more confident in your writing ability if you take a quality-first approach.

But wait! I have a secret third option! One that may not be to do with writing sprints at all!

Could it be that the reason why your writing feels worse... is that your current WIP happens to be challenging you in new ways?

The reason why I bring this up is because this is something I've encountered recently while editing my current WIP. For context, it's the second book in a trilogy, and the first book didn't require nearly as much structural editing and rewriting, so what's changed? Why are my drafts for Book 2 so much worse than Book 1?

It's because Book 1 relied on the Stations of Canon, (warning that this article mentions 'Harry Potter' if you'd rather avoid that) while Book 2 breaks away from them.

Basically, I built my fic around a plot formula from canon that was already proven to be effective, but now, I'm having to build the plot from near scratch. It's like learning to build a house where the scaffolding and measurements are all done for you vs having to do all that yourself. Of course my writing feels worse! I'm learning an entirely new storytelling skill. There's going to be plenty of mistakes along the way.

However, I'm making peace with my first drafts for Book 2 being "worse", because I'm learning just how crucial and transformative editing can be. Taking on these new challenges means that I'm noticing weak spots that were previously invisible to me, and what is a weak spot but opportunities to improve my craft?

I'm a big believer that if you feel like your writing is bad or getting worse, instead of stewing in the insecurity, you should instead investigate why. Why is your writing clunkier or flowing less smoothly than it used to? Is it that you use redundant phrasing and tautology? Do you take 20 words to say something that could just as easily be said in 10? Vague feelings about the quality of your writing is what allows insecurity to fester. Actually knowing what the issue is makes that much harder, because now you have a concrete problem to solve. I do have a partial draft for a video that goes into that more, so if anyone wants to see me complete and film it, let me know!

Thanks for the ask, Nonny, and I hope this helps~!

[darklight077]

he cant even look at her im gonna commit crimes

[darklight077]

brucie pre identity reveal

bruce: If a handsome man disagrees with me, I will immediately change my views. I have no principles. reporter clark: Maybe you should have some principles. brucie: You’re right. Maybe I should.

[darklight077]

… I just needed an excuse to draw cursed cat Alastor before it dies out

[darklight077]

[darklight077]

OH GOD THE LIGHTNING AND ANGLE AND THE WAY HE MOVES AND THE LITTLE DING I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE FUCK SLEEP I’M GONNA WATCH THIS 1000 TIMES

[darklight077]

wanted to draw them again

[darklight077]

random screenshots in the pilot artstyle

[darklight077]

these are fun to make

[darklight077]

I'm obsessed with the differences of these two, man I love this show so much.

How do y'all feel on Wander Over Yonder's pilot vs official?

[darklight077]

c peeps

[darklight077]

Drew a bunch of wanders because I watched the pilot ohhhh he’s awesome wander is AWESOMe

Poob also because they are both some guys

[darklight077]

PILOT Hater my beloved

Wander was unhinged

Also Sylvia had a glow up. She def needed a nose.

The Skullship is so silly I love it

Bonus cursed screenshot:

[darklight077]

The moment that I liked the most about the Released Animated Pilot is the beginning of the episode, introducing us to the villains.

First, focusing the powerful Skullship, ...

After Peepers showing himself to be a relentless commander, the obedient watchdogs....

And finally revealing their imposing leader, Lord Hater, silent but without letting go to be intimidating.

Wow this presentation really is so cool: The Evil Hater Empire is ready to the Conquest!! ⚡⚡⚡⚡

[darklight077]

🤲

[darklight077]

[darklight077]

WAUUUHHG YOU UNDERSTAND. DEATH GLARE MAKES ME ILL IN THE WORST WAYS AND I LOVE IT GERAAWUU IT'S SO ONE SIDED 2 ME BUT PEEPERS BEING STUPID ABOUT HIS CRUSY ON HIS IDIOT BOSS IS AUUHUJUJAIAKUH

I'm normal probably

And you know what ! I’m not even sure if he even acknowledges his crush as a crush? Perhaps he mistakes it as an undying loyalty to hater. but man. he’s soooo in love with hater