highlycosmic

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Lesser-known steps of the writing process:

Finding all the paragraphs where you used some hyper-specific word more than once

Rearranging paragraphs that you swear you wrote in the right order but turned out to be totally backwards

Going for a walk, coming up with the perfect line, and forgetting it as soon as you get home and open your laptop

Creating a separate document where you can dump all of those nice sentences that no longer fit in anywhere

Waking up in a cold sweat because so-and-so was supposed to be barefoot but never actually took his shoes off

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my beautiful infant son Untitled Document

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I'm a pile of unfinished things, unsaid feelings, unthought thoughts, and unlived lives.

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Me wanting to post my writing on tumblr

Also me:

✨Scared of criticism 🥲✨

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Any tips on worldbuilding?

Of course! Thank you so much for asking (and being patient)! Worldbuilding itself is quite a broad topic, so my advice can't cover everything, but I hope it helps!

Know the geography and enviroment

Roughly, what does your whole world look like? Is it super big? Does it have layers? Will there be mountains and rivers? Is space relevant to your world? Knowing these answers will be a great direction to start from!

2. Culture

Think about the types of people that live in certain areas versus others. Differences in things such as fashion, languages, and even relationships should be clarified. Another thing to keep an eye on is if you decide to introduce technology or not. Some people will say that they don't want technology to be a part of their story, only to end up accidentally including it later. This creates a lot of plot holes, so make sure to keep things consistent!

3. Variety

If you're struggling to think of more places to add, consider looking for variety. This could be location wise; maybe there's a lot of towns but less mountains or seas. Maybe there's a lot of modern cities, so to balance that out, you add a junkyard. Keeping it varied creates more interest and helps people remember certain locations better!

Of course, this can't exactly apply to all types of stories, but for many, it makes them more aware of what they're adding and what they can add.

4. Visualize

Speaking of awareness, I strongly suggest having a visual copy of your world so you are able to see what you're creating. I know, it's a lot of work, but you can be sloppy about it and it helps you realize many aspects of your world that you didn't know about. It can also assist when it comes to details such as distance between places because you're visually aware of how far they are from each other.

There are a lot of online tools to help with this, but honestly, you could just draw a rough shape and start filling things in.

I won't lie, worldbuilding is not really my thing, but I hope this helped!

Happy writing~

3hks ^^

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“you’ve always been more of a dog person” by t. das

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one of the best fics i've ever read, one that had me addicted to my phone and crying, wasn't even prose. it was a huge, casual, bullet-pointed outline with every detail of an au that the author never got around to writing in full. and it was amazing.

let this be a message to all you who want to write but can't do it "normally": write it! someone out there will eat it up. whether that be poetry, tiny drabbles, or bullet pointed list: your work is always worth it. your art (yes, art!) will alway deserve to have its moment in the spotlight. why? because you made it. even if it wasn't done in a traditional matter, it came from your brain and your creativity and that is amazing.

♡

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*hypnotizes you* write your book write your book write your book

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A drop in the universe ripples through eternity. Reminding time that life takes space in its empty echoes.

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Me, as a reader: stop hurting these beautiful characters! Those poor dears.

Me, as a writer: look at this poor glow stick

Character: I'm not a glow sti-

Writer me: *snaps the character, multiple times* look at him glow.

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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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Questions to ask beta readers

General:

Were you confused at any point of the story?

What genre would you say this book is?

When did you put the story down?

Is the ending satisfying?

If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?

When did you feel like the story really began?

What was the last book you read before this story?

Characters:

Do you get any of the characters names confused?

Which character is your favorite?

If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)

Which character do you relate to the most?

Which character do you relate to the least?

Do the characters feel real?

Are character relationships believable?

Are the goals clear and influence the plot?

Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)

Setting:

Which setting was clearest to you?

Which setting was the most memorable?

Am including enough/too much detail?

Plot and conflict:

Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?

Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?

Are there enough stakes?

Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?

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it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it doesn't need to be perfect it's the first draft it

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Fantasy Tea WIP (Title TBD)

Genre: Fantasy, Slice-of-life

Medium: Graphic novel

Status: Planning

Summary:

A prohibition has been inacted on potions in the kingdom, forcing Krig Petalwort, a goblin alchemist, to close his shop. Meanwhile, Nedwyn Amberwood, an eager halfling entrepenuer, wants to open up a new tea house in town. She takes over the potion shop while the alchemist helps out around the shop garden. Later on, they discovers that their tea can give minor potion effects. Suddenly, their business is booming with customers and needy adventurers. Follow their stories as they try to maintain a low profile as a well-to-do cafe.

Characters:

Nedwyn Amberwood - She/Her, 26 years old, halfling, curly dark brown hair with pink highlights, thicker build, makes farming clothes look cute.

Theo - He/Him, border collie, white and brown, good boi

Krig Petalwort - He/Him, ?? years old, goblin, a bit on the skinny side, has immaculate fashion sense, likes big hats.

Note: not at all a great artist, so if anyone would like to collab, please let me know!

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me ranting to myself about the parallels and relationships between my OCs (it's 1am)