#it feels incoherent

[americanrecord]

hiya! do you have any writing tips to share ? i love your writing and your journey is very inspiring to me as a new writer!

hiii, darling! this is so sweet, and i love hearing about new writers <33 welcome, welcome !!

anyway, as for writing tips, i have a few, and some of them are about just like — prepping — whereas others are more writing or editing-focused. also, a lot of these are contradictory, meaning you really have to exert a case-by-case sense of judgment. a tip that make work in one situation/with one piece, may not work with another.

before we break into that — if you or anybody reading this knows they are best writing off the cuff and/or are a pantser who detests making writing a routine/ritual + works more successfully in what is akin to random spikes of energy, some of these tips won’t be super helpful. what works for me is being very constant and thorough.

also, disclaimer, i have no real certifications (yet).

write everyday, or: as often as you can. seriously, practice helps. not only with the cohesion of your work, but with your writing. playing around and engaging with words in some way every day is my biggest tip. and i don’t care if you sit there and churn out 8,000 words in one day or write a 47-word paragraph and call it a night, just touch it. write! sometimes i write 5k in a day and revisit it & it’s terrible, and sometimes i write 24 words before i decided i was too tired & return to some of the world’s prettiest 24 words. if you have time, always try and write.

planning, outlining, editing, etc. is writing. it absolutely is, and don't let anybody else tell you otherwise. however, if you are only planning, outlining, and editing what you have already written, then you will never finish anything. sometimes, you have to take your hands off the work & give it a week. sometimes, with outlines, you have to say fuck it, we ball, and start typing and see what happens. i am an excessive planner, so this is hard advice i had to learn, but there is almost never a necessity for every single comprehensible detail to make it into the outline as a.) the work will start to mirror that bullet-y feel of an outline b.) many of those little details will get cut anyway. just write. get off pinterest and write.

on that note, if you are an outliner, do try to include as much detail as you can into that outline - namely things you know are important to the overall scene and that you may forget by the time you go and write it. most often, for me, that means writing down lines of dialogue as i first hear them in my head, even if they are ultimately changed by the time i go to type/edit. sometimes simply saying: "then valerie explodes in anger" is enough of a cue, other times, i have to remind myself how, exactly, she explodes in anger. this is often because i plan and make outlines in clusters.

speaking of, planning in advance—while bothersome to the pansters of the world—will save you a lot of work in the long run. it's definitely guaranteed to slash your plot-holes in half. what i specifically do is make the outline for like 4-5 chapters at once, or however many chapters apply to maybe one "plot beat" or arc. this ensures that they're as smooth as possible and all connect well because they were all sort of penned in a continuous motion.

share your work. it's scary, i know!!, but share it. i don't mean post it - unless that moves you, then please do - but share it. ask a friend to read it, source out a mutual, search for beta readers on the internet, etc. depending on what level of criticism you ask for, other people's feedback is invaluable. writers are always too close to their work and their characters so things may seem like they make sense and/or are realistic when they may not be. other people may catch what reads awkwardly but otherwise goes unseen because you've read over the piece too many times. they can pick out typos, confusing moments in plot/characterization, or—positively, funny/cute/sweet/riveting/interesting moments that kept them wanting to read more and therefore might serve as some motivation. writers often love criticism, and they like to know how they can make the work better, but they also love knowing what makes the work good and what people want to see more of. for any invested readers or betas tuning in right now: the more specific you can make your feedback, the better. i don't know a writer that wouldn't appreciate some lines/passages/moments being specifically honed in and celebrated, because sometimes a simple "yeah, it was good" is nice, but...not enough.

give some space between writing and editing. a lot of writers will advise somebody not to edit something until they've finished it in its entirety (not to applicable to people like fic writers who are sometimes writing without a schedule, on a post-write-post-write-rinse-repeat schedule), but i don't personally follow this rule...? i don't feel complete moving on from a chapter that may be teeming with typos. i am, however, somebody who would write a chapter, call it a night, and let myself sleep before looking at it again. with this rewrite specifically, i would also only edit lightly knowing i had a massive overall edit later in the pipeline. but do give space. words start to blur when you've been writing for a while, and what reads smoothly when you're sleep-deprived might be alphabet soup when you're not (or vice versa!) [and if you are working on a real book, do try to save as much of the editing as possible for a finished draft, as i can guarantee you'll have to do some rewriting anyway, so there's no use in killing yourself for the shiniest sentence so early on.]

editing is also done best when it's done by somebody else, but don't be the writer that puts word vomit on somebody's desk and expect them to make sense of it. what you give somebody else to edit should always be in its best stage possible (unless it's like: hey, just read over this rq, which isn't really an editing task). wordy is okay. full of red spaghetti, as i like to call it, is not. spell check is FREE. for self-editing purposes: i recommend some grammar aids like grammarly, prowritingaid, and hemmingwayapp. the latter, even the free version, is really good for pointing out things like overly complex sentences/run-ons, an over-abundance of adverbs, too much passive voice, etc. i don't always listen to that last site when it highlights some of my sentences as too complex, however, as...sometimes they are just big sentences while not being difficult to read. always exercise your best judgment or ask for a second set of human eyes.

also for editing, if possible, printing out your work and doing it by hand is a really good way to visualize the work and to reduce screen-induced distractions. i find it especially helpful for cutting words. i don't know why. sometimes, it looks great on a screen, but then i read it on paper and picture what people would be snuggling up in their beds to flip through and have a new sense of "oh, that's not needed," "that's redundant," "that's gratuitous detail that can be summarized in one sentence instead of four," etc.

for massive rewrites, however, i typically abandon a pen and just open up two side-by-side computer tabs and go at it. i end up cutting words this way too usually!! or adding, depending on...

another editing tip: reading your own work aloud is always good. your ear really does pick up on things that your eye doesn't. but if you're like me and you don't want to sit there and read off thousands of words to your poster of insert favorite celebrity, or if you're in public environment/a home environment with too many overhearing ears, then text-to-speech software is amazing. i swear by it, particularly for determining if the flow of the text is good, and there are a bunch of free ones out there. the most realistic voices (AI) are typically ones you need to pay for, which i don't do (looking into this, however, just because it's so helpful for me), so i will make do with voices that sometimes sound like siri — but it works!!! when writers read, especially their own work, i think they have a tendency to edit and rearrange words in their head like a passage is an endless word scrambler, so turning off your visual cortex (besides like, following along with the audio) and just listening to the words as they are read to you sort of cuts that instinct off at the knees and shows that, no, it doesn't sound as awkward as you think it does. there will never be a reader who scrutinizes your words as deeply as you do, so it's reassuring to know that it sounds nice off the lips of somebody else. even if it's a robot.

lastly, don't neglect snacks, water, entire meals, homework, your social life (to an extent, sometimes i get it fr), your health, sleep, the bathroom, etc. you can't write when you're dead.

lastly, part 2, have fun with it!!!!!!

[chiricat]

ryomina demons are winning

[gummi-ships]

[carissime]

Literally no thoughts just Gojo after your wedding carrying you over the threshold of your hotel room. You’re not leaving for your honeymoon until the morning but he nearly trips on the doorframe in his haste.

“You really don’t need to carry me—”

“But it’s tradition, we need to consummate the marriage!” he insists. Within seconds his lips are against yours and he’s fumbling with the light switch, and you finally swat his hand away and just beg him to take you to the bed.

He works the zipper of your dress down, part of him sad that he’s not going to see you in this gorgeous gown again, but then it reveals your white lace lingerie and the groan he lets out is broken and guttural and desperate.

This is far from the first time he’s seen you like this, but there’s something about this moment here and now that makes it so much more intense, so much more intimate and he just never wants to let you go.

“Satoru,” you whisper, and his breath hitches.

He leans down to capture your lips in a kiss. “Shh, I know. Just lemme take care of you, like I promised.”

And when he sees the gold band on his fourth finger pressing into the skin of your hips as he sheaths himself inside of you, he nearly loses himself, sending up a prayer to whatever gods are listening that he can keep his promise to keep you safe and happy forever.

[blairpfaff]

Would you like to sample?

[constablequodo]

Honestly, there's something about the sheer horror on Spock's face when he thinks he's killed Kirk in amok time that always hits me like a fucking truck.

Now, I know this discussion probably isn't anything new to the spirk community, but jesus christ. Every time I watch that scene, I go from "Oh my god this is so gay. How the hell did the writers and production team not look at shatner and nimoy rolling around in the sand together and go 'yeah seems totally heterosexual' " to "Oh my god. This is so fucking sad."

The pure horror and shock on Spock's face when he snaps out of the fever and realises what he's done (or what he thinks he's done) is so....AAAA

I can't even put into words how it makes me feel, it just makes me so not normal about the show and those two as a whole all over again.

He thought he'd KILLED HIM. BY HIS OWN HAND. DURING A PROCESS HE SEEMED TO BE VERY ASHAMED TO TALK ABOUT AND HE SMILED WHEN HE SAW KIRK ALIVE AND AJAJSJ-

[aviul]

time is passing

[wordsinhaled]

my ‘crowley loves aziraphale’ post needs a companion because there needs to be absolutely no doubt that aziraphale is ABSOLUTELY as gone on crowley so…

here i am just thinking about aziraphale’s “smitten, i believe…you’re being silly 🥰” and “why don’t you wait inside? you like waiting inside” (aziraphale knows what crowley likes, what makes him happy!). it’s aziraphale telling crowley he gets plenty of use out of the[ir] bookshop and it’s aziraphale making sure crowley feels welcome to come in whenever he likes and that it’s crowley’s as much as his to the point where crowley just feels comfortable making hot chocolate there

it’s the way he touches crowley so easily (hand on the shoulder in the s2 finale, arm around the waist in the graveyard support, hand on the chest and sliding down, the way aziraphale clasps crowley’s hand in both of his with such enthusiasm in 1941 when it could’ve been a prim handshake, the way their hands almost curl together when they’re dancing at the ball…)

(and that last one makes me unwell, because if their ball had been during the actual regency they would both have been wearing gloves… but at aziraphale’s ball, their hands can touch without any layer between, and he even seizes crowley by the hand to pull him onto the dance floor like he’s waited his entire life to do it)

thinking about the way aziraphale has always looked at crowley from the very beginning, soft, soft, so impossibly, unbearably soft. the way he darts little glances at him whenever he can, like he’s indulging himself in looking

thinking of the way he takes obvious pleasure in introducing crowley to people and saying they go back a long time. thinking of how when gabriel spoke about one person making everything alright aziraphale immediately thought of crowley

thinking about how we’ve always seen them dine or drink in public places but then in 1941 they’re having a private candlelit dinner, just the two of them

thinking of the way aziraphale looks at crowley at the end of the season - as crowley’s putting his glasses back on for the final time - in this earnest, intent, searching way. even in the midst of this argument he’s thinking why are you closing yourself off from me? you don’t do that anymore, we’re not like that anymore. it’s like he’s trying to read crowley’s features, like everything will fall into place if they just look at each other properly

thinking of how aziraphale touches his own lips after the kiss like he can press the memory of crowley’s mouth into them to keep forever

in short… aziraphale loves crowley so much it’s devastating

[ekkoh]

joel is ellie’s safety and ellie is joel’s weakness. joel makes ellie feel more safe than she’s ever been and ellie makes joel feel the most vulnerable. ellie cries when joel can’t help her and joel cries because he only fails ellie. i’m on the floor sobbing.

[dog-teeth]

something to recognize that choosing recovery again and again is difficult work, and you are not weak for faltering

[glitterghost]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like there is a particular kind of sadness (or loneliness, if you will) that ace/aro folk feel.

[lovelyreprisethirteen]

you don’t understand.

they played an instrumental reprise of ‘loser, baby’ when husk and angel were flirting with each other and i m e l t e d.

like, you don’t understand. that’s their theme now. they have a t h e m e. i have a ship with a theme tune, now. and i’m m e l t i n g.

if they play it when they finally kiss, i’m actually going to implode.

[electrozeistyking]

Ghost Drone is an AU where the events of Murder Drones have been spread out some odd years and changed around (except for Episode 1, which remains the same as it does in the show). Alternate takes on Episodes 2, 3 and 5 have already occurred.

The first comic isn't canon to the AU anymore, but since it's the initial concept, I figured I'd include it. This entire post is basically my way of saying "Hey, this AU has been stewing in my brain since the 16th of November in 2023."

[awsok]

shin hati — season one character study

introduction in the odyssey, emily wilson / ahsoka, 'master and apprentice' / ahsoka, 'fallen jedi' / so we must meet apart, gabrielle bates & jennifer s. cheng / ahsoka, 'far far away' / between dog and wolf, rené-xavier prinet / ahsoka, 'far far away' / ahsoka, 'dreams and madness' / ahsoka, 'dreams and madness' / camp damascus, chuck tingle / ahsoka, 'the jedi the witch and the warlord' / the sun is also a star, nicola yoon

[squirting-sub]

Got fucked so good. My eyes were rolling back, mouth open but no sound coming out, with a big plug in my ass. Just completely lost in pleasure as my dom fucks me from behind while I'm face down ass up with my hands and feet secured to a spreader bar. Head empty, no thoughts, just pure ecstasy.

"Look at you. I fucked you dumb."

[suntails]

duality