#don't ask what's happening in the notes section i just write ahead/write scenes that might not ever happen there

[revvethasmythh]

I rarely show off my scrivener themes, but this one is just SO pretty, I'm so happy with how it came out

[purrincess-chat]

For the writers truth or dare ask: 🌿❄️🍄

Give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

So, this is something I've actually been dealing with a lot over the past year. Some of it is out of my control, but the other side is just a general lack of motivation. Here are a few tips I've found that are helpful for me:

First, identify where your block is coming from. Is it because a scene isn't working and you don't know how to fix it? Is it because you don't know what to do next in the story? Is something else in your life stressing you out? Do you suffer from a mental illness that may be making you feel disconnected? Once you recognize what kind of block you're facing, you can find ways to overcome it.

The way you handle your block is going to depend on what kind of block it is. For me, I've been dealing with a lot of outside stress in my personal life that doesn't usually leave me with much mental energy to devote to writing or even some of my other hobbies. In cases like that, I've found it's best to be patient and kind to yourself. I've been working on managing my stress and taking breaks to fight the burn out. If this is the case for you, I can tell you it's sadly a slow process depending on your circumstances. Be kind to yourself, write when you can, and don't beat yourself up if you are struggling, it will only make it worse. Try to rebuild a habit of writing. Maybe set aside a certain time every day or every other day to write, even if you can only manage a few words. Building a habit will help you get back into the swing of things. If your daily life is too hectic to allow for that, then put the writing down and take care of your business. Sometimes things are just more important than writing, and you shouldn't feel guilty for putting aside a hobby. Life is hard. You'll get there.

If your struggle comes from being stuck on a particular scene, I have a couple of remedies that usually work for me. One way is to skip ahead and bridge the gap later, so for me if a conversation between characters isn't going how I want, or what happens more to me is filling in exposition between conversations, I might skip ahead to the next portion of the scene or chapter that I can clearly picture in my head and work on that for a while. Often times I find when I go back to bridge the two sections later, it's a lot easier seeing where exactly I need to end up, and I can usually fix the problem with a sentence or two that was previously tripping me up. The second option that I also sometimes run into is if I follow a particular thread and find out it's a dead end or just not flowing how I want, I might cut a chunk of the most recent bits I've written. Sometimes I delete it, other times I just cut it and paste it either further down on the same doc or by itself onto a blank doc. That way if I decide I want to keep it or add it back later, it's not totally gone, but sometimes going back and rewriting a particular bit that isn't quite working how I want gives me a fresh start to try something else. Writing sometimes is throwing things at a wall until something sticks. It's okay to delete something you've already written or cut it. In fact, oftentimes it's needed. It can be frustrating when you realize something you've spent a lot of time on just isn't working, and you have to cut it, but in the end, if it will fix the issue, it's unfortunately time to swallow your pride and just cut it.

On the other hand, if your block is coming from just not knowing what to do next in the story, I have a few options to re-spark inspiration. First, I recommend rereading over what you've written. Get a sense for what you already have on the page or in your notes. Next, revisit the source material you're writing from if you're writing fic. Sometimes I find that putting myself back into that world helps me put myself back into the characters heads, and sometimes getting a renewed sense for who the characters are and what drives them can help me figure out how they would react in a given situation or what choices they might make. Third, ask yourself what your end goal is, then work on figuring out what you need to get your characters or plot there. I know a lot of people don't like outlining, but if you find yourself running into this issue a lot, it might be worthwhile to figure out a system that works for you. I utilize a number of different kinds of outlines when I write. I usually start with a bare bones outline and summarize each chapter in a sentence or two. What is the main focus of each chapter? After that I work on a more detailed outline and fill in the blanks, focusing on what I want for each character throughout the story. What challenges will they face, what lessons do they need to learn, what flaws are they going to overcome, and how are they going to grow? Once I know that, I work on putting them in situations that will accomplish that. Sometimes, when you're making things up as you go with no real plan, it can be easy to write yourself into a corner. Planning a little bit ahead of time can help you see where you're going and hopefully avoid pitfalls. If you've already fallen into a pitfall, I'd recommend advice I gave earlier and go back to the point where things went wrong and cut the parts that aren't working and try a new approach. Writing takes patience, and you don't always get it right the first time. That's perfectly fine, just keep trying.

Some other remedies that work for me are taking time to clear my mind and refocus on the story I'm telling. I may go for a walk, or clean my room, or listen to a song that reminds me of the characters/story. I'm not the best example of it, but also sometimes reading other people's work (professional or otherwise) can spark inspiration, or studying the way they tell their story can help you figure out how to tell your story. Also, keep in mind that you're not going to crank out 3k every single day. Sometimes all you can manage is 500 words or even one sentence. That's fine. Every day is different. Just keep going. It's difficult to give a blanket piece of advice because everyone suffers differently. Hopefully any of this advice was helpful 😅

What's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

Ooo, so it depends. I have a lot of ideas all the time, and I love all of them in different ways for different reasons. I've been dipping my toes into the LoZ fandom lately, particularly the botw/totk side. I've been working on a Zelink fic that picks up right after botw ends and bridges the gap between botw and totk following how they began recovering from the calamity, so right now that is my dream fic, I suppose. I've also been working on my secret project for ML that I'm not quite ready to reveal yet, but it's another Adrinette centric story (surprise, surprise, Cat) where the reveal has happened and they're together, but things aren't as wonderful as they'd hoped. As for who will write them, ehhh me 😅 all of my ideas are things that I would write. But typically if I post about something publicly like in one of my brain dump posts, I don't mind if other people get inspired by the idea and want to write it. 🤷‍♀️

Share a head canon for one of your favorite ships/pairings

I'll give two because my brain lately is oscillating between love square and Zelink.

For the love square, I headcanon that Adrien would be the dad that wants to take his kids to do everything that he couldn't do as a kid, and Marinette has to reel them back in bc I don't care if it's fun for you, you can't take our five year old skydiving. Let's just go to Disneyland 🤦‍♀️

For Zelink, I headcanon that post botw, pre totk when Zelda is a teacher at the school in Hateno, that Link often brings her a picnic lunch, and they sit outside under a tree in the school yard and eat his cooking while talking about their day. I also hc that Zelda would absolutely rope him into teaching PE to the kids.

[andiwriteordie]

hi andi :) i love your writing sm and i saw someone else ask you for writing tips, but…i’ve always wondered how to make an outline? especially a really detailed one, like the one you described in another post. i always struggle with longer fics bc i don’t know how to make a good outline, and it sucks! i was wondering if you have any tips to help with that? <3

hi hello!!! 😊💖

so, i don't really know if there's a set way to write an outline, but i'll go ahead and share my methods for it if that's okay?

as a warning, i've always been someone who's had to take very thorough, detailed notes in order to fully understand or like retain anything. i was that way all throughout school, so i definitely think my outline reflect that... again, these are just my processes!

ok, so first i kind of use my outline as just a place to dump ideas as they come, if that makes sense? so right now, i've got a couple in progress outlines that i just don't have the time to flesh out yet, but as i get inspiration, i just throw those ideas into there and know i'll come back later... which is part how i end up with massive docs at the end lol.

take the outline piece by piece. so, when i say "wow i wrote a 90 page outline for this fic bc i'm crazy" obviously that took me a while and i didn't like... conceptualize it all at once? if that makes sense? i had the basic skeleton idea of what i wanted, then i just broke it down into smaller pieces from there. for me, on long fics like i know better (but you're still around) or i'll find a new place to be from, what i have done is go chapter by chapter (naturally) and then i do section by section. for these two fics, i found it easiest to allow myself 3 sections per chapter. so now, you kind of have a marker of "okay, i'm on chapter 5, section 2" and can give yourself goals and have a better overall framework for the fic!

okay, now more on the sections themselves (part 1): this one is kind of just funny, but i like to give my little sections names. usually they're just key words for me to remember what the hell i'm supposed to be talking about in this section (the way that my chapter titles also provide that frame of reference for me). so for example (sorry i'm not trying to be like ooh look at my fics! just like. it helps me with explaining to give examples lol), in i'll find a new place to be from, chapter 6 is called "The Vision" and section 3 on my outline was called "Into the Upside Down" because i literally decided/had in my mind that i wanted that last section to lead into chapter 7, which is their adventures in the upside down. even when i hadn't fully written that section out yet, i knew the main point of that scene was to have the party first venture into the UD... which leads into my next point.

for me, breaking things into sections like this (as opposed to winging it - which i often do on oneshots but don't really recommend on long fics) literally helps me break down what scenes need to be written. so, i ask myself things like: what are you trying to accomplish in this chapter? where does this chapter fit into the overall plot? and what scenes need to happen in order to progress the plot or the characters' arcs forward? or do you have a scene in mind that you wanna build around? when i have that, i kinda throw that into the mix, then build the chapter around it! that helps when you have a basic understanding of what you wanna write in the fic but are struggling in the "filler" chapters and things. so for me, doing it this way helps me conceptualize and fully map out how the plot is progressing, what needs to happen in later chapters, or the opposite with what is being set up in earlier chapters.

once i have the chapters/sections figured out, i literally just like bullet point the hell out of it. how do i imagine the scene? is it mostly internal monologue? what is happening in that section? any dialogue i might have, i'll throw in there! i'll literally write down things as simple as "we see mike going into will's room" or something like that, just so i am beginning to visualize what i'm trying to accomplish here. (again... this is also probably taking it a step further than i have to, but for someone who needs to be thorough and likes having a tool to fall back on whenever i'm struggling through a chapter, it's a lifesaver). i also like leaving myself notes for things to foreshadow in the overarching plot, as well as reminders for where the narrator's story arc should be at right now. so for example, when outlining i know better, i really tried to remind myself that i was supposed to be emphasizing mike's guilt because of losing will throughout different chapters, and when i came back to write it, i knew what kind of emotional tone to set for his perspective.

anyways, that was a LOT, so i hope you were able to find any of it helpful! also if it helps, here's an example of a chapter i outlined for i'll find a new place to be from so you can kind of see how i set my chapter outlines up! :)