serenityfeather

[serenityfeather]

💥 Small Writing Habits That Genuinely Changed How I Write 💥

listen. i’m not here to sell you a productivity system or convince you that waking up at 5am will make you a novelist. i am deeply Not That Girl. HOWEVER, here are 5 chaotic little writing habits that quietly rearranged my brain chemistry:

��️ typing BEFORE i know what happens i used to think i had to outline everything before writing. wrong. i get more done when i let the scene surprise me. just start with vibes and a line of dialogue. the rest shows up once you start moving.

🗣️ saying the scene out loud like a play no joke. talking my scenes out like a script?? life-changing. the pacing, the emotion, the rhythm of it all makes more sense when i act like i’m gossiping about my blorbos in a voice memo.

⌛ 20-minute timers (not for productivity, just to start) i tell myself “just 20 minutes.” sometimes i stop. sometimes i blink and it’s 2 hours later and someone’s been emotionally eviscerated in chapter 12. this one’s black magic. use wisely.

🕯️ re-reading my WIP like a book no editing, no judging, just reading through with snacks like it’s already published. changes how i see the pacing and emotional arcs. also reminds me it doesn’t completely suck.

🧂 leaving in the messy parts i used to delete scenes that felt “off.” now i just write a little comment like “THIS IS BAD BUT KEEP GOING.” turns out momentum matters more than vibes. shocking, i know.

anyway. tiny habits. huge mental rewiring. 10/10. highly recommend.

[serenityfeather]

Writing Emotions: Sorrow

Welcome. Below lies truths, though not universal, for the art of woe - its reality, its impact and its depiction. Thank you for reading. 

To grieve at all scales is an utmost inherent aspect of processing the trials thrown at one by life. Whether for your own loss or the loss suffered by another, sorrow can be grounding when treated as it should be, or deluding when not. 

Misery loves company

Ideally, the sadness you express through your characters will draw the reader in, and via their empathy, leave them feeling similarly. Indeed, sorrow has the ability to humanize your characters - it makes them seem vulnerable in ways that allow the reader to understand them better. 

And in turn, it allows you to understand your characters better. Seeing and writing someone at their most vulnerable gives you an insight for their qualities when they don’t have the energy to hide behind a facade, whether consciously or unconsciously. Writing scenes that feature your characters grieving over any sort of loss is a good means of getting to know them. 

So then, how is one to write sorrow?

Your sorrow is your own

No two people grieve the same. When they experience loss, the reality hits them at different times, and haunts them just as sporadically. It is up to you to understand your character, and reason for yourself - how would they react to losing something? For loss is the great source of nearly all sorrow, be it your own loss or another’s for which you grieve. 

In this sense, I can only recommend two broad things. 

First, draw from yourself. The idea of sorrow one knows best is their own, and while you don’t need to directly copy the way you experience sadness and paste it onto your characters, it is a starting point you’re already deeply familiar with, and so you can revise it - adjust timings, physical and verbal reactions, the sheer fact it stems from you will make the process far, far easier. 

Second, allow yourself to be immersed in what your character is going through. This is a tip I give to all writing, but it is especially important when depicting sorrow. The closer you get to your story - the more “real” you allow it to be - the more natural the result becomes. 

I can also list some things that factor into sorrow - things to think about displaying through your story, though I cannot recommend using all of them at once. 

Does your character search for an escape, or a distraction? Do they allow the feelings to stew in their gut, waiting for them to settle or disappear?

Is your character’s reaction to loss inward or outward? Do they keep their grief to themselves, or do they shed tears and lament as the feelings naturally bubble up?

More particularly, how does your character react physically to loss? Does it make them feel weak and reach for support, does it make them feel eternally tense, are they overcome by sudden chills or flushes of heat?

Do they try to compensate for their sorrow via other emotions? Masking their feelings over loss through indiscriminate anger, or false content, or utter indifference?

Who does your character reach to for help, and why? Maybe they don’t dare reach out to anybody - if so, why not?

Should your character try to articulate their sorrow in words, do they succeed or does their vocabulary fail them? Grief is so inherent, there are times when not the harshest terms can do it justice - what does that inability do to your character, being unable to rationally communicate their feelings?

Feel free to use these when you depict sorrow - they are drawn from my own experience doing so, and work well for me. 

When grief owns you

If not handled, sorrow rots. It grows, though you delude yourself into thinking it’s dissipating. In reality, it merely loses its “shape”, detaches from what caused it in the first place so it may grow with every loss that follows, no matter how minor. The lows of the day grow deeper, the highs flatten out and turn life into a hay field hiding widespread sinkholes. 

Depression is one of many things that can follow a poorly handled loss, when the mind’s ability to produce the chemicals that steer your mood is stressed to a point of effectively shutting down. It’s a state of your grief encapsulating you, a suit of armor to protect you from the possibility that things get even worse. It distances you from reality, makes the embrace and touch of your loved ones feel empty. Your own personal abyss. 

But not all sorrow takes this path. The vengeful channel it, convert every ounce into relentless fury. If they make right of what happened, take revenge on those who caused it, they may be free - their own personal balance will return!

It doesn’t. Revenge is a distraction, and once fulfilled, the mind is left to fend for itself. There, the unresolved loss stands, waiting with open arms. And with nobody to stop it, the mind accepts. 

The hand reached out

Nobody can handle sorrow that deep on their own. They need help, and they need to want it. What is your character’s “safety net”? Do they have one, and if so, do they realize it? Does something keep them from accepting help, whether pride or self-loathing or fear that things will only get worse? Deep sorrow changes your perspective on life - do their days seem bleaker? Does opening their bedroom door feel like a monumental effort, much less making food for themselves or going outside?

Know that handling sorrow is a process that can span a lifetime depending on the event. Do not rush yourself in resolving it in your story, lest the impact is weakened and the end becomes rushed. Even if your story ends with the character still processing their loss, you can make it “good” by surrounding them with people who can help them, or just offering any reason for the reader to feel hope. 

These two concepts - grief and hope - go hand in hand when storytelling. When in tandem, the reader’s mind will fill in what your story is not long enough to contain, give happy endings, though distant, and make a resolution as good as the reader wants it to be. 

The end

Thank you for reading. I appreciate the support for this blog, and goodbye.

[serenityfeather]

Common nervous tics for your OC

⊹ Tapping or Drumming Fingers

⊹ Leg Shaking

⊹ Foot Tapping

⊹ Nail Biting

⊹ Lip Biting or Chewing

⊹ Hair Twirling

⊹ Throat Clearing

⊹ Sniffling

⊹ Eye Blinking

⊹ Shoulder Shrugging

⊹ Head Tics

⊹ Finger Cracking or Popping

⊹ Gum Chewing or Popping

⊹ Repetitive Sighing

⊹ Tongue Clicking or Clucking

⊹ Stuttering or Stammering

⊹ Pacing or Fidgeting

⊹ Scratching or Picking Skin

⊹ Humming or Whistling

⊹ Repetitive Swallowing

[serenityfeather]

20 Angry Dialogue Prompts for Writers

For your emotionally charged scenes, your betrayals, your heartbreaks, your slow burns falling apart…

Use them. Twist them. Let your characters scream.

“Don’t you dare twist this around like I’m the villain here.”

“I trusted you. Do you even understand what that means?”

“If you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back.”

“Say it again. I dare you.”

“You really think an apology is going to fix this?”

“Spare me the excuses — I’ve heard them all before.”

“I’m not angry. I’m done. There’s a difference.”

“You lied to my face and still expect me to believe you?”

“How many times do I have to be the one cleaning up your mess?”

“You broke something you don’t know how to fix.”

“You don’t get to be sorry when you knew exactly what you were doing.”

“Tell me the truth, or I swear I’ll never speak to you again.”

“If you cared even a little, you wouldn’t have done what you did.”

“Get out of my sight before I say something I regret.”

“It must be nice, living in your little world where consequences don’t apply to you.”

“You used me. And the worst part? I let you.”

“You act like you’re the victim. That’s the funniest part.”

“Do you even feel anything? Or is this all just a game to you?”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know exactly how this would hurt me.”

“You burned every bridge, and now you want to cry about being alone?”

Join my Patreon for in depth writing tips HERE or my Discord to chat with writers and readers HERE

[serenityfeather]

[serenityfeather]

took a depression nap and all i remember from my nap dreams is a nonsensical t-shirt design that left me feeling dazed and confused after i woke up.

[serenityfeather]

jokes to make after failure that aren’t self-deprecating:

I’m the best to ever do it

Nobody saw that (best if said loudly)

No one’s ever done it like me

I could be President/they should make me President

Behold, a mere fraction of my power!

The public wants to be me soooooo bad

I’m an expert in (thing you just failed at)

How could this have happened to god’s favorite princess?

Nothing ibuprofen and a glass of water cant fix

I’m being sabotaged

[serenityfeather]

if you’re a white creator and your brown/black characters are always sassy, reckless, aggressive or cold and your white characters are always soft, demure, shy and introverted you should think about maybe why you did that

[serenityfeather]

immortality as theft (you have to steal life from something else) immortality as parasitism (there is something else inside You that is keeping you alive and you become less of yourself more and more the longer it stays in you) immortality as violence (everything is trying to kill you because everything is supposed to die and the universe will always try to find a way to right the wrong that is You) you understand

[serenityfeather]

about a week ago i found this in a goodwill, one of those “grow in water” toys but

there’s no pictures of what might be inside besides the awful baby clipart, and i am insanely curious about whats actually in the egg 

15 hour adventure starting now

[serenityfeather]

As much as I love enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers, I also think it’s poisoned people’s minds a little. (Or a lot.) I swear to god every couple that doesn’t hate each other or bicker up until their big love confession is considered badly written or platonic besties that should’ve stayed just friends. And I need everyone to listen closely when I say this, a romance can still be well developed and written even if they both like each other when they meet! And I’m not talking about instalove, I’m talking about people meeting liking something about each other and then their love develops over the course of the story.

Please, I am begging you, diversify the types of couples that you write, especially in the same story.

[serenityfeather]

decided to “quickly reread” my draft and ended up rewriting the entire thing. again. the road to hell is paved with ctrl+s.

[serenityfeather]

[serenityfeather]

6 Quick Writing Exercises to Wake Up Your Imagination

We all hit those blah writing days. Your fingers are ready, your doc is open... and your brain goes static. That’s where writing exercises come in — small creative boosts to shake off the dust and get back into your story flow. Here are six to try when your words feel stuck in traffic.

1. The 5-Minute Word Sprint

Pick a random word (use a generator or close your eyes and point at a book), set a 5-minute timer, and write anything involving that word. No stopping, no deleting.

2. Dialogue Without Context

Write a short convo between two people. No descriptions. No setting. Just back-and-forth lines.

3. Rewrite a Scene in Another Genre

Take a scene from your current story and flip the genre. Drama becomes comedy. Fantasy becomes sci-fi. Romance becomes horror.

4. Describe a Place Using the Five Senses — No Sight Allowed

Can’t mention what anything looks like. Only sound, touch, smell, taste, and intuition.

5. Character Swap POVs

Write a paragraph from the POV of a side character reacting to your main character. Bonus if the POV is brutally honest or completely wrong.

6. One Line Story Hooks

Write 3 one-sentence story starters that make you want to keep writing. (Example: “I woke up married to my enemy, and worse — he knew it before I did.”)

You don’t need to write a masterpiece every day. But showing up — even for a silly exercise — keeps the creative part of your brain warmed up. Try one of these before your next writing session, and see where it takes you. 🍒

[serenityfeather]

🧩 How to Outline Without Feeling Like You’re Dying

(a non-suffering writer’s guide to structure, sanity, and staying mildly hydrated)

Hey besties. Let’s talk outlines. Specifically: how to do them without crawling into the floorboards and screaming like a Victorian ghost.

If just hearing the word “outline” sends your brain into chaos-mode, welcome. You’re not broken, you’re just a writer whose process has been hijacked by Very Serious Advice™ that doesn’t fit you. You don’t need to build a military-grade beat sheet. You don’t need a sixteen-tab spreadsheet. You don’t need to suffer to be legitimate. You just need a structure that feels like it’s helping you, not haunting you.

So. Here’s how to outline your book without losing your soul (or all your serotonin).

—

🍓 1. Stop thinking of it as “outlining.” That word is cursed. Try “story sketch.” “Narrative roadmap.” “Planning soup.” Whatever gets your brain to chill out. The goal here is to understand your story, not architect it to death.

Outlining isn’t predicting everything. It’s just building a scaffold so your plot doesn't fall over mid-draft.

—

🧠 2. Find your plot skeleton. There are lots of plot structures floating around: 3-Act. Save the Cat. Hero’s Journey. Take what helps, ignore the rest.

If all else fails, try this dirt-simple one I use when my brain is mush:

Act I: What’s the problem?

Act II: Why can’t we fix it?

Act III: What finally makes us change?

Ending: What does that change cost?

You don’t need to fill in every detail. You just need to know what’s driving your character, what’s blocking them, and what choices will change them.

—

🛒 3. Make a “scene bucket list.” Before you start plotting in order, write down a list of scenes you know you want: key vibes, emotional beats, dramatic reveals, whatever.

These are your anchors. Even if you don’t know where they go yet, they’re proof your story already exists, it just needs connecting tissue.

Bonus: when you inevitably get stuck later, one of these might be the scene that pulls you back in.

—

🧩 4. Start with 5 key scenes. That’s it. Here’s a minimalist approach that won’t kill your momentum:

Opening (what sucks about their world?)

Catalyst (what throws them off course?)

Midpoint (what makes them confront themselves?)

Climax (what breaks or remakes them?)

Ending (what’s changed?)

Plot the spaces between those after you’ve nailed these. Think of it like nailing down corners of a poster before smoothing the rest.

You’re not “doing it wrong” if you start messy. A messy start is a start.

—

🔧 5. Use the outline to ask questions, not just answer them. Every section of your outline should provoke a question that the scene must answer.

Instead of: — “Chapter 5: Sarah finds a journal.”

Try: — “Chapter 5: What truth does Sarah find that complicates her next move?”

This makes your story active, not just a list of stuff that happens. Outlines aren’t just there to record, they’re tools for curiosity.

—

🪤 6. Beware of the Perfectionist Trap™. You will not get the entire plot perfect before you write. Don’t stall your momentum waiting for a divine lightning bolt of Clarity. You get clarity by writing.

Think of your outline as a map drawn in pencil, not ink. It’s allowed to evolve. It should evolve.

You’re not building a museum exhibit. You’re making a prototype.

—

🧼 7. Clean up after you start drafting. Here’s the secret: the first draft will teach you what the story’s actually about. You can go back and revise the outline to fit that. It’s not wasted work, it’s evolving scaffolding.

You don’t have to build the house before you live in it. You can live in the mess while you figure out where the kitchen goes.

—

🛟 8. If you’re a discovery writer, hybrid it. A lot of “pantsers” aren’t anti-outline, they’re just anti-stiff-outline. That’s fair.

Try using “signposts,” not full scenes:

Here’s a secret someone’s hiding.

Here’s the emotional breakdown scene.

Here’s a betrayal. Maybe not sure by who yet.

Let the plot breathe. Let the characters argue with your outline. That tension is where the fun happens.

—

🪴 TL;DR but emotionally: You don’t need a flawless outline to write a good book. You just need a loose net of ideas, a couple of emotional anchors, and the willingness to pivot when your story teaches you something new.

Outlines should support you, not suffocate you.

Let yourself try. Let it be imperfect. That’s where the good stuff lives.

Go forth and outline like a gently chaotic legend 🧃

— written with snacks in hand by Rin T. @ thewriteadviceforwriters 🍓🧠✍️

Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:

[serenityfeather]

[serenityfeather]

"yeah i'm a writer and i enjoy doing it as a hobby"