jaimejlaurell

[jaimejlaurell]

mundane scenes are important.

This is some unconventional writing advice, but here me out, because it's important and I don't see it being talked about enough:

Not every scene you write has to be essential to drive your plot forward. That's it. And your story doesn't need to be at high stakes at all times to be considered interesting, either.

Your scenes, that you include, should always be crucial to your story. Not important. Crucial. So, yes, it is important that your story isn't filled with scenes that don't affect or drive your plot forward, but it is also okay to include scenes in which your characters simply... exist.

Maybe it's not necessary to show your characters at work, signing papers at a desk (unless a dragon comes in and sets fire to the place or they get fired), but it might be necessary to have your characters invite a couple friends over, make some pancakes, and crack some jokes! A scene like that, while it might not contribute much to the overall plot of your story, will help bring life into it!

Giving your audience glimpses into your characters life, not only helps them connect with your characters, but it's a way for them to start caring more deeply about both your characters and the relationship between them.

Your story CANNOT simply be ACTION ACTION ACTION. Yes, it is important for your scenes contribute to your plot, but you can't forget the importance of establishing characters, as well as the world they live in and the dynamics between them!

YOUR PLOT IS ONLY HALF OF IT. If a scene is rendered useless in terms of plot development, but contributes in any way to the development of a character or relationship, it is not useless, nor is it a waste of space!

Learn what it means for a scene to be completely useless and what it means for it to be useful in terms of characterization, worldbuilding or exposition. You don't need to cut those scenes. Every scene has to serve a purpose, but there is a lot of purposes to be served.

So let your characters breathe, even for just a second. There needs to be down time. Otherwise the emotional impact you try to bring upon your audience won't come into play, because they have not been given enough time with your characters to start caring about them.

[jaimejlaurell]

What’s the trope name for when someone finds out they’re the Chosen One™ and is like “No, thank you” and goes and does something else

[jaimejlaurell]

Reading back over writing you banged out at 3am is always either like "wow this is so good what kind of entity possessed me" or "perhaps I have some sort of syndrome". If it's really good you might get both though

[jaimejlaurell]

I saw a post talking about how Terry Pratchett only wrote 400 words a day, how that goal helped him write literally dozens of books before he died. So I reduced my own daily word goal. I went down from 1,000 to 200. With that 800-word wall taken down, I’ve been writing more. “I won’t get on tumblr/watch TV/draw/read until I hit my word goal” used to be something I said as self-restraint. And when I inevitably couldn’t cough up four pages in one sitting, I felt like garbage, and the pleasurable hobbies I had planned on felt like I was cheating myself when I just gave up. Now it’s something I say because I just have to finish this scene, just have to round out this conversation, can’t stop now, because I’m enjoying myself, I’m having an amazing time writing. Something that hasn’t been true of my original works since middle school. 

And sometimes I think, “Well, two hundred is technically less than four hundred.” And I have to stop myself, because - I am writing half as much as Terry Pratchett. Terry fucking Pratchett, who not only published regularly up until his death, but published books that were consistently good. 

And this has also been an immense help as a writer with ADHD, because I don’t feel bad when I take a break from writing - two hundred words works up quick, after all. If I take a break at 150, I have a whole day to write 50 more words, and I’ve rarely written less than 200 words and not felt the need to keep writing because I need to tie up a loose end anyways. 

Yes, sometimes, I do not produce a single thing worth keeping in those two hundred words. But it’s much easier to edit two hundred words of bad writing than it is to edit no writing at all.

[jaimejlaurell]

Should I keeping writing even though I kinda stink?

Only if you enjoy it.

[jaimejlaurell]

writing tip #3190:

NO write. ONLY think

[jaimejlaurell]

hey writeblr is this anything

[jaimejlaurell]

[jaimejlaurell]

[jaimejlaurell]

I made this instead of writing

[jaimejlaurell]

you were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong my healing needed more than time.

my long awaited painting of north from @waytoofuckedupstargazer‘s servants of damnation. took me way longer than i expected bc i kept adding stuff i thought would look cool, including that clock/halo thing, but it is DONE and PLEASE read sod i love one sad boy with a may-or-may-not-be statue of liberty crown

[jaimejlaurell]

Are you really…. not supposed to…. describe what your characters are wearing….

[jaimejlaurell]

Today I discovered this writer’s tactic to face her fear of rejection and failure, and it’s honestly very inspiring?! This kinda rewired my brain and I feel everyone should read and think about it.

Read her short article here

[jaimejlaurell]

To Be Written

Source: Steven Ingels

[jaimejlaurell]

I drew Gemini from servants of damnation!!!!

@waytoofuckedupstargazer

[jaimejlaurell]

i keep memeing while trying to beta read servants of damnation so here’s a compilation. sod belongs to waytoofuckedupstargazer and partialllystars; i am but a sad little clown with mspaint

[jaimejlaurell]

dedicated to @mahalidael because I Simply Had To 💖💖💖