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nanowrimo · 6 months
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5 Tips to Avoid Burnout as a Neurodivergent Writer
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When taking on a project as big as writing a novel, you may run into the risk of burnout. NaNo Participant Joana Hill gives some tips on avoiding burnout as a neurodivergent writer.
Burnout.  As writers, we all know it. For neurodivergent writers, burnout can be even more damaging than usual. We can be much more sensitive, both mentally and emotionally, than our neurotypical friends and family.
This means avoiding burnout, and taking care of it when it does happen, can be even more important for us.  I’m here today to provide some tips for my fellow neurodivergent writers to tackle just that.
1. Write What Interests You
Write what interests you rather than what you think you ‘should’ be writing.  Many of us get caught-up in pleasing others.  For neurodivergent people who’ve spent much of their life masking, or hiding their true personality and needs because of fear of rejection, it can be a hard habit to break.
If you want to write a 50k slow burn coffee shop AU of your favorite fandom, an epic space opera starring ants, or a main character with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or any other disorder or condition you have, go for it.
2. Get A Support Network
For neurodivergent people, we’ve often lived our lives with special interests no one wants to hear us talk about.  It often results in us not talking about them at all before someone can tell us they don’t want to hear about it.
Whether it’s offline with friends and family, or online here at NaNoWriMo or other sites, having people who are actively interested in listening to you and helping you plot and write can be a game-changer.
3. Celebrate As Many Victories As You Want
Many years, my personal goal is that I can get the new Pokemon game, which always comes out around the middle of November now, once I hit 50k.  But you don’t need just one grand goal.
Get a bag of your favorite candy and say you can have a piece every so many words.  Find something on Amazon you want (and can afford to get!) and say you’ll get it once you hit the halfway point.  Whatever motivates you to keep going, set it into motion.
4. Plan For Flexibility
That may sound like an oxymoron, but hear me out.  Neurodivergent people often love to have a plan.  I know I can get frustrated and upset when I’m expecting something to happen and something different does.  For a big goal like writing a novel in a month, a lot of things can end up going wrong.
Carry a notebook and pen or tablet with a keyboard case in case an errand takes longer than expected.  Back your writing up to several places in case your main writing device crashes.  Make sure at least one of those is a cloud service in case you end up writing on a device that isn’t yours.  The more contingency plans you have, the better prepared you are when life happens.
5. Be Kind To Yourself
Some days you may not get the minimum goal, or you might not write at all.  You may feel like you just can’t do it because you’re behind on your word count, or you decide you don’t like what you’ve written.
I get it.  But don’t beat yourself up about it.  Take a break.  Play your favorite game or read your favorite book.  Go for a walk.  And remember that you’re awesome.  No one can write this story like you can.
Joana Hill is a writer of young adult stories, as well as novellas inspired by Japanese light novels and anime. You can find her books, social media, and anything else you could imagine wanting to know about her on her LinkTree. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio
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sugar-plum-senpai · 3 months
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Fanfic Writer Notion Template | Notion Template for Fanfiction Writers | Writing Notion Template | WIP Organizer Template
Hello! I'm very excited to finally share the Notion template I've created for fanfic writers!
Admittedly, I am more of a fanfiction reader than a fanfiction writer, but I wanted to try my hand at creating this Notion template. That being said, I'm not sure if I've organized the template in a way that is super helpful or makes sense for a writer, so any advice/suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated! I am definitely planning on revising the template - this is a very early iteration.
Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions! :)
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groguspicklejar · 3 months
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Things I wish I knew when I started writing on tumblr:
Use tags to organise your posts: especially since you know there will be a time when you need to find a specific post but you put it in the search box and dumblr gaslights you into thinking you never reblogged it? yeah :) also to help put your fanfics, original posts, ramblings and reblogs in different categories that you keep on your blog. it helps to come up with your own trademark tags for your own blog. for example, "what's in the picklejar" is everything of my original posts (fanfics, rambles, complaints, etc). "babykelsi writes" are tags for all my masterlists. "picklejar asks" are tagged for every ask i receive in my inbox. which all coincide with my url and my name, Kelsi (which really, is not my real name but it's the internet, these streets are dangerous).
don't compare yourself to others: i know this is an age old saying, but trust me, this is something you need to hammer in your head. you're not in a competition, you're in a community. don't feel bad that one writer/artist has hundreds or thousands of notes while you have like twenty. this is especially if you're starting out, believe me, i felt that way a lot of times then i realized that it wasn't helpful and that i wasn't competing with anyone. we're all here to share and appreciate our work, our ramblings, etc. no one will make fun of you for having less notes than others. just keep writing, keep building your little space on hellsite and before you know it, you'll be mentioned in a rec list, or someone will send you a video reminding them of your fic or you'll have someone in your dms telling you a very detailed and extremely heartfelt message about how they felt very moved by your writing and how they related to your character(s). all it takes is one chapter or one-shot at a time.
write as much or as little as you want: if you feel bad that your chapters are too long, don't be. someone out there might have had a really tough day and your 8k word document of hurt/comfort, slow burn leading up to smut might be exactly what they need to feel better. if you feel bad that your chapters are too short, don't be. someone out there might be in the middle of a tough day and your 0.6k word drabble might make them giggle through their lunchbreak and help them gather their sanity to get through the rest of the day. you never know just how amazing your fics are and to us readers, size doesn't matter (did i just make a sex joke? yes. yes, i did. deal with it).
It's okay to say no sometimes: whether it's saying no to specific requests because they make you feel uncomfy and/or because you aren't well versed in a certain topic. or saying no to people asking for an update on your fic. or even saying no to tagging people in your fics (yes, y'all know what i'm talking about) because people don't have manners and just ask to be tagged without even sparing you a reblog or there isn't a taglist to begin with😐 you're not going to be an asshole for setting boundaries so let go of that icky feeling in your stomach. yes, it might seem rude or unkind to people if you say no, but this is your blog and your writing. you decide what goes and no one else can change that.
Speaking of saying no, don't be afraid to voice your opinion on something that bothers you: like i said, if you don't like people asking you for certain things, tell them that you don't like that. you're also allowed to voice your opinion if you noticed something that isn't quite right within a fandom (e.g— racism, pedophilia, etc). it might be scary, but if you feel like you noticed something off, chances are another person did and they might also be afraid to speak up until someone else does. exhibit a.
Be very careful of which blogs you interact with: because if you're like me and you run a nsfw blog, chances are that there are children on this app who will take it upon themselves to ignore all of the (+18 ONLY) signs and read stuff that wasn't meant for them. but fear not because you have a very cool friend called the "block button" who will always be available to you 24/7. and don't let the ageless blogs fool you either because someone can add their age just days, weeks or even months after you've read, commented and/or even reblogged their smut and you just find out that it's a fucking minor🤦🏻‍♀️ (yeah, had to backtrack and find every last one of their posts on my blog to delete them asap🚮). so to the adults, be sure of someone's age if you're going to interact.
It's okay if you don't read every single one of your mutual's fics: really, it is. maybe you're not in the same fandoms but you share the same braincell, and that's okay. but maybe you are in the same fandoms and that's fine too. perhaps the character they're writing for isn't your favourite or isn't the one you're currently hyperfixated on or you're just not ready to read the fic because you have your own to write or you're still crying at 3am because of a different fic. it's entirely okay, your moots will understand if you don't crack open their masterlist and inhale every single word they've written thus far. it's okay. it's fine. it's the same as buying a book and putting it on a shelf for months (or years) without reading it but eventually, you'll pick up that book and have the time of your life.
It's okay to write the same trope in different fics: no one's gonna complain about it. chances are, as your readers, we're going to gobble it up all the same because we love that trope just as much as you do and we'll thank you for it. (for example, take a look at this post of mine)
It's okay to take a break and it's even okay to give up: especially if you have a fic that's popular amongst your peers. don't feel guilty if you feel overheated, burnt out or you feel like you have to take a break because you just discovered that the actors to those specific characters are a bunch of assholes. it's completely fine. take a step back. breathe. if you want to return to that fic/character/fandom, that's okay. if you want to give it all up entirely and scrape everything off, that's okay too. there's no need to force yourself to continue down a path that doesn't make you feel safe/comfortable/happy anymore. don't feel guilty for protecting your mental and emotional peace.
which brings me to my next point, there's no definitive cure to writer's block: sometimes when you're stumped, you're stumped. maybe prompts aren't working. maybe your favourite songs aren't working either. if any and all else fails in trying to get back into writing, perhaps it's a sign to take a step back from writing entirely. maybe for a day, maybe a week, or month. or however long you need. in my personal experience, the feeling of being stumped by writer's block is easily much better to bear than being burnt out learned that the hard way.
lastly, it's okay to be horny on main: yes. you heard that right. no, i will not elaborate :)
might add more later
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lyralit · 1 year
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lulubelle814 · 1 month
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haley-lana · 6 months
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CALM DOWN, SATAN
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inky-duchess · 2 years
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Fantasy Guide to Hosting a High Society Dinner Party
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In every period piece, the rich, the noble and the Royal often gather for an exquisite meal where etiquette reigns supreme. The intricacies of these high society dinners are complex, one foot out of line and you risk offending your guests. So how can we write them?
Place Settings
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Perhaps the most complex part of a dinner is how the silverware, plates and glasses are arranged on the table. First the table is laid with a wool cloth to keep the white tablecloth in place. The tablecloth has to hang midway between the floor and the table. Every course has to have its own set of silverware, every course must have its own glass for the wine being served. Napkins are usually of linen, cut about twenty-four to twenty-six inches. Most tables would have centrepieces either of candelabras or flowers. This would be undertaken by the footmen under the eye of the butler.
Seating
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Table seatings are just as important as anything for a dinner as it marks rank. The head of the house sits at the head of the table. The guest of honor sits next to the head and if they have a guest, say a friend, they sit on the other side of the head of the household. A spouse of the female guest will sit to the left of the host and the spouse of the male guest at the left of the hostess. Important guests are seated near the host or hostess. Other guests at the table are arranged by interests, usually near people they can speak with. Married or engaged guest generally do not sit with one another. Most dinners are arranged in a man-woman arrangement. Most dinners, especially formal ones, would have assigned seating.
Serving
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In the dinning room, there are usually a collection of footmen and the butler to serve. The butler selects and pours each wine for the courses served. He serves the host first, working clockwise around the table with each footmen carrying either the sides, accompanying sauce or the meat/fish itself. In very formal settings, every guest may have their own footman to cater their needs. While waiting at table, the servants don't talk to the guests unless asked a direct question they must avoid avoid eye contact and offer the plate to the appropriate height so the guest can easily serve themselves. All footmen and the butler must wear white gloves while serving.
Timeline
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Before dinner, guests gather in the salon or drawing room to have a drink and get settled before hand. Some houses served cocktails during this time. When dinner is announced, the guests will make their way into dining room with the men escorting the ladies they are seated with, following after the host in order of precedent. Most formal dinners had multiple courses, sometimes as much as twenty or so. After dinner, the ladies would leave the men to their drink and cigars while they take coffee in one of the drawing rooms. They would reunite after for some light conversation and entertainment.
Drink
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There are strict rules involving drink. Most courses would have their own wine. White wine is served with the fish, red wine with the meat, and champagne or sherry with dessert. Port, coffee and other drinks such as curaçao would be served after supper. Wine would have had to be strained for sediment by the butler beforehand and decanted once opened.
Dining Etiquette
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There are numerous rules to follow when is dining at a formal dinner right down to leaving the table or what you wear.
One doesn't sit until the hostess has been seated, the guests wait behind their chairs until she sits.
Men would pull out the chair for the lady to their right. Hands should remain off the table when not in use they should be ones lap.
Napkins are placed on one's lap but only after the host/hostess does, with the fold tucked at the waist.
As for silverware, one begins with the outermost pieces and work your way in for each course.
One only begins eating or drink when the host does. When the host/hostess stops eating, placing their silverware on the plate at the 10:20 position, everyone must stop eating.
When a lady rises, the men near her are expected to stand, pulling out her chair and pulling it in when she returns.
When being served, one is not expected to thank the servants.
When at a formal dinner, men would wear their whites and tails. At a less formal dinner, men would wear dinner jackets.
Married ladies would wear tiaras at formal suppers and all ladies wore gloves, removing them while eating.
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“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.”
Stephen King
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doodle-pops · 4 months
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Dear anons,
If a writer's form of content is not to your liking, there isn't a need to barge into our inbox and TELL us that it's bad and we should seek help from others for improvement. We never asked, so we don't want to hear it. Most of the time, you all don't even know how to give proper feedback, so we don't want it.
We write for ourselves and our comfort. If you don't like a style of content or writing, unfollow, block tags, or come off the site. Attacking writers and claiming your advice was feedback is absolute entitlement. Writing isn't easy!
Sincerely,
Every writer who has gone through this shit
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wanderrealms · 1 year
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Character did a hostile takeover of the story. I'm alright with that since she knows the story better than I do.
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nanowrimo · 5 months
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Write Meow! 4 Writing Tips Cats Teach Us
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Did you know cats have a lot of wisdom about the writing process? It's because of their cat lifestyles! NaNo Participant Megan Jenkins lets us know what our wise cat friends can teach us about writing.
“Cats are too human-like,” my friend complained while explaining to my cat-lady-self why she’s a dog person. I laughed, but after pondering my cat’s behavior, I realized just how much cats can teach us about becoming a better human, and more importantly, a better writer. (Arguably.)
Here are a few writing lessons we can learn from cats.
1. Have a Routine
As someone who rolled her eyes at this advice for years, I still cannot believe that my cat hoodwinked me into a morning routine. 
My cat was right though. 
Writing for 15 minutes during my cat’s breakfast has me writing more than ever before. While 15 minutes may not seem like a lot, giving yourself prompts for the next session and having consistent sessions helps you accomplish more than you would think.
Also, cats are great accountability partners. If you stray from their routine, they will meow loudly and slap you with their paw. (Or is that just my cat?)
2. Take Breaks
Before my cat, my writing process was to write for hours at a time on a random weekend day. This process was exhausting and made me feel like I had to block an entire day for writing, which is becoming increasingly impossible. 
However, cats inherently know the importance of taking breaks and stepping away from screens, which is why they sit in front of our keyboards and computers when we spend too much time on them (I assume). 
One way to remember to take breaks is to participate in writing sprints, in which writers write together for a set time. 
For any fellow introverts, the Pomodoro Technique, in which you work for 25 minutes then break for 5 minutes with a longer break after four rounds, has been shown to increase productivity. 
You might hesitate to try sprints or Pomodoro like I did because you love to emerge yourself in your writing for hours. However, I have found that both methods have built my endurance, allowing me to write longer. 
Plus, the frequent breaks to entertain my cat prevent her from hijacking my keyboard. 
3. Prioritize Meals
Cats are grazers, meaning they eat several small meals throughout the day, which they do not like to miss. 
Unlike my cat, I skipped meals all the time. I couldn’t be like Pippin in The Lord of the Rings asking for second breakfast while on an important quest!
However, modeling my cat, I now prioritize my eating. While it may not work for everyone, eating throughout the day gives me energy to write after work, not just rewatch The Lord of the Rings.
Since you are likely not on a quest to eliminate all evil, try prioritizing eating, like cats (and hobbits) do, and see how it impacts your writing. 
4. Focus on the Present
Do you sometimes focus so much on the past or the future that you forget about the present? I do. With NaNoWriMo especially, I tend to over-plan and dwell on any minor failures. 
Cats don’t do this. Cats live in the present, and while cats learn from their past, they do not dwell on their failures or worry about the future. Instead, cats deal with problems when they arise.
Similarly, do not torture yourself if you have a bad writing day (or week or month) or worry about every what-if. Instead, use the past to improve your current writing session.
As NaNoWriMo begins, I hope what I have learned from cats’ behavior helps remind you to have a healthier relationship with writing, which is ultimately the goal of NaNoWriMo. Besides the 50k.
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Megan is a business risk and control advisor at a financial institution. The rest of her time, she spends dreaming of fantastical places. Her love for language led her to obtain a BA in English with a concentration in professional writing and an MA in Technical Communication and Rhetoric. When she is not writing, reading, or editing, she also enjoys traveling, watching movies, and spending time with her family and cat, Sophie. Connect with her on Linkedin or Goodreads!
Photo by Pixabay
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devonscroob · 1 month
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It's the worst
You know that feeling when you post a new chapter and then refresh your inbox every two minutes for four hours straight, waiting for comments, and when they don't come you absolutely convince yourself everyone hates the update and your writing and you are a disappointment and a sorry excuse of a writer and should give up and then over the next few days you get so many positive and supportive comments you wonder why you ever even worried in the first place and then you write another chapter and do it all over again? Yeah, that's me.
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skylerchasesbooks · 2 years
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How To Use Foreshadowing
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Foreshadowing can be a tricky technique to get right. Give away too little, and you may confuse readers or lose their interest. Give away too much, and you take away your story’s suspense.
Here are some tips for achieving the perfect balance of foreshadowing:
1. Plan your story: You need to know exactly where your story is going before you can decide which events you can foreshadow, and how to do so. You may need to wait until your second draft to properly incorporate foreshadowing into your work. Take as much time as you need to work out every detail before dropping hints. Plan, outline, revise, and plan more.
2. Plant seeds as early as possible: The closer to an event foreshadowing is placed, the less effective it usually is. In fact, foreshadowing immediately before an event can act as a “spoiler” for the reader. Instead, make sure foreshadowing takes place long enough before the event or ending that it is not fresh in your readers’ minds. This will give your readers even more joy when they comb back through your story to find the breadcrumbs you left.
3. Scatter those seeds: When choosing where and when to foreshadow in your story, be as sly as possible. Think of it as a scavenger hunt: you wouldn’t hide all of your treasures in the same place. Instead, distribute your foreshadowing evenly throughout the story for maximum enjoyment.
4. Foreshadow in moderation: Don’t wear your reader out. Add too much foreshadowing, and your readers will feel as though they’re getting all “setup” and no “payoff.” Not enough foreshadowing, and your readers may be frustrated by an unexpected resolution. Craft the right balance, and your readers will find themselves re-reading your stories to find all of your clues.
5. Enlist a second set of eyes: As the person closest to your story, you may feel that your foreshadowing is perfectly clear—but if a reader can’t see or appreciate it, your clues will be ineffective. Grab your friend, coworker, or neighbor for a cup of coffee and hand them your manuscript. Once they finish reading it, ask them if the clues were too obvious, not obvious enough, or just right.
Hope these helped! Like and share! Follow For more content, tips and guides!
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blackrosesandwhump · 1 year
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Rose's Writing Tips #3: Word Lists
Another hack I use to get the words flowing is word lists.
It sounds simple, and it is, but it works, and I always end up writing something, even if it's short.
Here are the two steps:
Make a list of words off the top of your head. One trick I like to use is to start with a word and change one letter for each subsequent word. Example: hollow/follow/fallow/wallow/willow/pillow, etc.
Pick at least three words and write as much as you like (but at least a sentence) about each of them. You can also combine words into a prompt.
I just did this yesterday and ended up writing much more than I expected, which led to three new drafts of flash fiction that I intend to polish up.
Happy writing!
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lulubelle814 · 3 months
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goth-automaton · 6 months
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It's my fic and I decide, how much canon I want to keep.
None. The answer is none.
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