#writer problems

[writers-potion]

I was wondering if you had any tips for how to write scenes where a character is hearing gossip about them? Like an example is they're walking through the halls and they're hearing people whisper about them.

Gossiping Scene Idea Prompts

Hi :) Thanks for dropping by my little blog (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Here are some scene ideas when a character overhears others' gossip about them:

Standing at a crowded party when the character suddenly hears their own name in a group standing nearby

Character half-asleep in the backmost row of the library/classroom, unseen, when the gossipers enter the room

Character presenting in front of the classroom when they notice a few people snickering at the back

When a character walks up to a group, they suddenly fall silent

When a character walks up to a group, a few of them hurridly leave

They hear a second-hand account from their friend about this wierd gossip going around...and they realize it's actually about them

The character takes a video of themselves/their surroundings for a vlog/short flim/school project, etc. and when they re-watch the footage, they hear something they didn't expect

Overhearing conversation at one of the tables at their part-time job as a waitress, realizing that it's about them.

Character borrowing their friend's phone/tablet/laptop and suddenly...they see a chat popup about them

An anonymous school community where the character realizes that an anonymous post is actually about them

[16woodsequ]

"How are you?"

"Well, the fates are combining against me to keep me from writing, so there's that."

[incandescent-creativity]

How many times can I use the word “wound” in this chapter before my readers spontaneously manifest in my house to beat me up

[wanderingjedihistorian]

That moment when you realize the fic you just started writing is not, in fact, going to be a one off but the start of a new AU.

Why, brain, why? Don't I have enough of those already 😭

[dootznbootz]

Me, trying to unlearn shame and stop being a perfectionist:

[deception-united]

I’m kinda at a weird faze in my creative life right now, I want to write something, but I’m still hung up on the skills of writing not the art of it. I tried to condition myself into writing just for the fun of it yet I’m always left wondering if there a better way to get my point across. Maybe that’s because for my age…I should be writing better.

My question is, how do I just write just for the fun of it, and how do I increase my vocabulary? I’ve heard people say to use the dictionary, but that really eats up time and most words people never use in an actual conversation. Anyway that’s my question.

Thanks for asking! Here are a few tips:

Freewriting

Balancing the desire for improvement with the enjoyment of the craft itself can be a challenge for some writers. Different things work for different writers, but an exercise I like to do is freewriting. Freewriting is a technique where you write continuously for a set period of time without worrying about grammar, structure, or content. It can help to bypass your inner critic and tap into your creativity. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes and write whatever comes to mind, without stopping to edit or revise or even come up with a comprehensible plot. Make it nonsensical. Just write.

Experimentation

Try experimenting with different styles and genres. Don't feel confined to one particular type of writing. Trying out different writing styles and drawing inspiration from other writers can help you discover what you truly enjoy and where your strengths lie. Explore various forms of expression and writing to find what resonates with you.

Draw Inspiration

Something I like to do when I'm reading books or fanfics, and highly recommend if you're trying to increase your vocabulary and improve your writing, is take note of descriptive phrases or words that I like for future reference in my own writing or as inspiration. Or I'll write down words that I don't know so I can come back and check their definitions—I keep a list of those, too.

Integration

Once you've collected a list of words and phrases you like or don't know, challenge yourself to incorporate them into your own writing. Experiment with using these words in various contexts—prose, dialogue, poetry, different situations—to deepen your understanding and comfort level with them.

Remember, writing is a journey, and there's no one "right" way to do it. These suggestions could be effective for you, or you might find another method that suits you even better. Embrace the process and keep honing your craft at your own pace. Happy writing!

[lannegarrett]

Writing in my head; Beautiful flowing sentences full of powerful phrases and witty dialogue.

Writing on my page: They did a thing and said some stuff. There was snark.

[xenascribbles]

no, i don’t need to work on a back burner wip when i have two perfectly fine main wips to work on

[crystalninjaphoenix]

My brain at all times:

[writers-potion]

Hi I really love all the writing tips you give! I'm a fanfic writer myself and your tips have helped me out so much with writing <3 I was wondering if you had any tips on how to write any kind of flashback scenes? Like ways to lead up to it or where a character is like having a headache and then BOOM they get a glimpse of a flashback or something. I struggle so much with this ;-;

Ideas for Flashback Scenes

Hey there! Thanks for the question! Since flashbacks are about reminding a character of a memory they haven't been thinking about, here are some ideas for triggering a memory!

Hinge on an Object/Person

Coming across an object or person from the past can call a dusty memory to the forefront. 

Maybe your character is going through the attic or clearing out an unused shelf. It can be a friend returning an item that they’d lost. 

Dreaming/Semi-Dreaming

A dream is a product of taking snippets from our actual life and putting them together in weird ways. A character may dream about something in the past, wake up, then recall the memory more clearly, using the dream snippet as the starting point.

Similarly, they may dream briefly as they doze off, then wake up to have a “fuller” flashback. 

Deja-Vu

A deja-vu would be most natural if the memory being recalled is set somewhere the character goes to on a day-to-day basis (like the supermarket or the cobbled walkway in front of their house, etc.)

A repeated action (cashier checking out items), a familiar scenery, or a familiar sound will trigger a similar memory, maybe even set in the same location. 

Mid-Conversation/Trigger Words 

Certain words or voices can be triggers of memory. You can have a moment where the character pauses for a moment to think, “wait, I think I’ve heard that phrase somewhere…” 

The other character asking them a question can also trigger a memory in the process of trying to come up with an answer. 

Trigger words can appear on road signs or on book covers, etc. You can try describing the font/color of the word and link it to a snapshot of the memory being recalled. 

The "Aha!" Moment 

This is where the character is doing essentially nothing (like standing in the shower, staring off into the ceiling, etc). It can even be when they’ve lied down trying to sleep, when something suddenly just jumps into mind. 

Provide some context through internal dialogue, where the character is either thinking about something that they’re worried about or an event that left an impression on them that day, etc. 

Being in Danger/Near-Death Moments

This is similar to how a character’s life plays out before their eyes right before they die. 

When a character is in danger, their brains will start firing in ways that it usually wouldn’t, triggering a flashback. 

A flashback can be induced by shock, a loud bang, explosion, etc. when the character goes momentarily numb. 

Flashback Under Intoxication

If your character is drunk, on drugs, or taking medication that impacts their cognitive abilities, they may start triggering memories that have long been buried. 

However, the flashback scene in this case will have some unusual aspects, and will be prone to being warped or even fabricated in some parts.

[xrns]

What i made instead of writing.....

[soy-sauce-and-mothra]

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[furiousdinosaurdestiny]

Usually it’s video games instead of music but this is pretty much accurate hehe

[so-many-ocs]

"why does writing take so long" because 60% of it is coming up with a sentence, realizing that sentence doesn't work the way you want it to, and staring at a wall

[tinkerbitch69]

Keyboard go BRRRRRRRRRR

[writersshitpost]

"Can't wait to see where you take this story" well I can't wait to see where this story takes me either