#writers advice

[creation-help]

"Wah this section of worldbuilding I'm doing is so minute and kinda pointless to the larger scheme of things, hurr durr I'm just focusing on some whatever part when I have actual story and plot to figure out-" WHO CARES. YOU ARE THE GOD OF YOUR UNIVERSE. HAVE FUN CREATING IT.

[sunsoaked-living-blog]

I have a question for writers. (I’m asking mainly in reference to fanfic writers, but any creative writers can answer and give their response)

How do you write your characters? Do you get inside the mind of your character, trying to embody how they think and write based off of that? Or do you picture a scene playing out, almost like a movie in your mind, and then try to flush that out of your mind?

Or is it a secret third thing?

I’m toying with the idea of trying to write a fic, but all I have are general ideas and flashes of specific scenes and I don’t know where to start or how to write the characters and do them justice.

I really struggle with dialogue. I can easily think of what I would say if were me in a story, but coming up with what the other character’s responses (for ex. Jason Todd) is hard to imagine. I know when I read a fic, I can tell what feels right to me for their character when reading it, but when I want to put words to a paper, they ain’t coming.

I’d love to read any advice other writers have on their headspace and process while writing.

[cmoroneybooks]

When seeking commercial success with writing you need to be realistic. Just because something shouldn’t be the way it is doesn’t mean you can ignore that reality.

What I mean: 

People do judge a book by it’s cover, unless you’re talented and have done your research it will negatively impact you not to pay a professional.

Marketing a book isn’t about how good your book is. It’s an entirely different skillset you’ll need to pick up whether you get indie published or traditionally published. 

If you’re writing something niche you can’t expect the marketing advice of people writing and selling something with wide scale appeal to work for you. You’ll need to find a way to advertise directly to the communities that surround your niche. 

Bigots read and buy books.

Publishing a book is fucking expensive but cutting corners is quickly noticeable. 

Publishers don’t take as many risks as they should, they’re increasingly letting indie authors take risks and prove that certain types of story can make it. You might have to wait for someone else to prove your kind of story works in the indie space to get any traction in the trad space.

I doubt any of these really surprise anyone. But anytime something is unfair or wrong in publishing whether indie or trad I see a lot of writers say something like ‘well people shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover so I’m making my own anyway’ as if saying that somehow changes reality. Let’s be realistic but hopeful and defiant as we head into 2023. Like the pragmatic side character who’s with the hero till the bitter end.

(Also how else are we meant to judge your book in a sea of others, when there’s so many that picking one off the shelf or clicking on to see the blurb is a decision of itself??) 

[gods-graveyard]

SOS- WHAT CAN I HAVE BARTY CALL PANDORA IN MY MORTUARY ASSISTANT AU ROSEKILLER??

He calls Evan "Blondie" or "Pretty boy" and I need something equally affectionate but in way that can be taken as either flirty or platonic.

(also link for anyone interested ttps://archiveofourown.org/works/54634246)

[thoushallwrite]

hey guys. when you get an idea? write it all out. go big. go home. do EVERYTHING. write the ideas, plan it all out, write the draft of the first chapter/part/whatever. be messy as hell. don't try to make it perfect- just word-vomit. do whatever you want. as much or as little.

then leave it alone for a few days. ignore it. let it stew in your doc.

come back to it in, like, a week. revise it.

wait another week. revise it again.

keep revising every week until you think it's decent (enough). then post it. or get started on the next part. whatever.

the point is, don't burn yourself out, trying to do the ENTIRE writing process. do as much as you're comfortable with, and the moment you start to feel burned out, leave it alone for a while. focus on something else. maybe a different story.

i find this tactic works extremely well for me. esp since i have insufferable adhd :)

[halesluts]

hello! do you guys have any tips or recommendations for someone who would like to start writing again but is afraid, insecure or ashamed?

[kingmagnificoofrosas]

I just need one little thing clarified...

"...reducing him to an object of sick twisted lust..."

"...making him a porn object and writing downright disgusting things..."

I totally get about toxic sexualization, but just want to ask: it's not about healthy romance and making love with a true soulmate, right? it's about toxic things only?

i usually write romances about healthy OTPs, and i wrote one for Magnifico, it also included making love. I'm just afraid to... be accused of this toxic sexualization or something.

please do not consider it rude, your words are matter to me. 🙏🏻

Hey dear 💙

Don't worry, I got you!

I absolutely meant unhealthy, toxic sexualization only. I wasn't talking about writing healthy romance and intimacy between two soulmates. I was talking about things some people said. I will not repeat what I've seen but to put it decently, those comments went above and beyond "I would like to have intercourse with him."

To further clarify my point. When I first saw Magnifico, I was like "Hoooooo ma goodness, he HOT!!" And that was never in a sexual way. Just me adoring and gushing over his beauty. Cause he's dang handsome, alright. The sky eyes, the high cheekbones, defined jaw, neat hair, goatee!! Heck the goatee ❤️😩🤌🏼 the BODY, the smile ... I see this man and my heart skips a beat.

You know, that squealing, giggling, fangirling kind 🫶🏼

But seeing some people making comments about what they would like to do to him *gag* ... And I kid you not, it read like someone was quoting a porn script. Or for some, the first and only thing they think of is something sexual. When I said that some reduce him to an object of sick twisted lust, I meant exactly that.

It's also not someone just saying something like, "I bet he's skilled." If you know what I mean. Still, ok, weird. But at least it's nowhere near explicit.

Such thoughts never crossed my mind even once. The fact that this is even happening is so sad.

I'm so shocked and deeply disgusted by what I read some people say, part of me just wishes to erase it from my memory. Also, what the heck are fanarts of *eherm* full blown nudity of him even doing online? And I don't mean shirtless only. Good grief, I know most of us Magnifico-defenders are mid-teens, young-adults and adults but I just picture some kids scrolling through social media for WISH fanart and then they suddenly get a drawing of below waist porn shit. Ew! Seriously what the frick, EW!

I also wasn't talking about portraying sex in the right, healthy way in a novel or fanfiction. This is a whole topic for itself. In my humble opinion, a good writer can bring all the right feelings across without having to write every single damn detail. I'm writer and I always give the advice : You need to be able to show the reader whats happening without becoming explicit.

I'm aware that writing intercourse is a very delicate topic and tbh it's tasking even for a professional writer. As a christian, I'm standing for closed-door romance. Meaning, I read and write intimate scenes non-explicitly. And honestly, that to me is so much more fulfilling than writing or reading explicit scenes. To be able to make the air sizzle and the readers heart pount without getting explicit is a skill and there is so much beauty in it if it's done well.

Because, like you said, love-making is so much more than just an act! It's God's gift to soulmates. It's the highest form of expressing endless true love. It's becoming one, it's two souls made for each other melting together. It's meant to be beautiful! It's meant to be pure. It can be wild passionate fire just as much as it can be tender and sweet.

And exactly that is also why my heart bleeds and breaks when I see sick stuff online.

I hope this clarified my statement and helped you a little bit 💙🫶🏼 if you have any more questions or want to have me give out advices as a professional writer, I'm always here for it!

[creation-help]

How to get in the writing mood and keep at it

(Not all of these may work for everyone, find what motivates you)

- Read something, especially something you enjoy or find very interesting

- Already have an idea? Write an elevator pitch about it. Or a summary as if your writing was a fanfic. Or a synopsis, or an "Out of context" description. Or an advertisement

- Start narrating things you do. Either outloud or mentally, but I find that in general this gets you out of the daydreaming mode, into writing mode, if you just start going "and then they swiftly sat down to look for that one thing they knew had to be somewhere around here"

- Get some music and start really imagining some scene. You can try to find something fitting for what you wanna write or try different moods and vibes and see which one inspires you

- do something that casually occupies your hands or body but lets your mind run free. For me this is car rides or bike rides (with music), but any sort of little tinkering or Stim toys for example can help crafting up ideas

- Scribble, write random words, gather sentences, they don't need to be related to anything you're writing, but get some word production going and you're already closer to getting started. Just write whatever your mind brings you and let your hand run free, loosen it up ykno

- Write about something very easy. This is like the narrating your actions part, but instead of mental or verbal it's just writing. Write "Then I wrote a sentence. Then I wrote another sentence, and another sentence after that" and so on. Just start with something mundane, obvious or easy and work your way from there

- Write character or environment descriptions. It's also an easy start. Or text a friend and tell them what you're thinking of writing. Or talk to them about your ideas or lack thereof. You can also use the rubber duck method (explain what your problem is to an object, like a rubber duck, as if it was your listener. Having to teach or explain something to a third person can often help solve what you're struggling with)

- Move your ass. I don't mean that you have to exercise, I mean that when you sit in the same spot for too long your brain can start stagnating. Move from one place to another and get some blood flowing, maybe do some stretching too, that's good for you

- Self care. Tired? Out of focus? Hungry? Aching? Been working too much already? I know these can be hard to figure out but personally for me, I find that if I feel really impatient about wanting to complete something but finding the process of doing so really stressful, wanting to take shortcuts and so on, I just need a break. Look for any signs of fatigue or irritation or any potential emotional stress that you might wanna take care of first, trust me it helps, I know it feels lame bc you just wanna get productive but rest is productive I promise.

Tangent: if you just really really wanna write some specific thing, but feel like you can't just start there, Just Start There. Don't torture yourself by forcing yourself to make or do more than what you're actually interested in, when you feel like doing more, you can do more, but if there's this ONE SCENE or something you REALLY WANNA get down, do that. The rest can come later, or never. That's completely fine. Make sure you're actually enjoying this

[goose-onthe-loose]

Creativity is not the end-all, be-all of life. It's ok to simply be. Making something new is an incredible experience (with wonderful results-- yes, even if your creation is "bad"), but there are so many beautiful things that already exist. It's ok to just enjoy them.

[catt-nuevenor]

Switching Tracks

To all my fellow authors out there, do you find it difficult to switch between emotional elements in your stories?

Between the knife-twisting, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking moments of devastation, and the sweet as sugar, sun-warmed, pulse-fluttering, squee-inducing romance?

If you too struggle, have you found ways to cope? How do you manage that tonal dissidence when writing? How do you change tracks, so to speak?

Any hints, tips, and general advice would be most appreciated.

Pain and frustration sharing for those who haven't found ways to cope is also 100% valid.

[cmoroneybooks]

If you’re a pantser who struggles to finish books because you run out of ideas or constantly get stuck, that’s a sign you should try outlining.

It might not be the answer. 

I want to make it perfectly clear I’m not one of those writers that don’t believe you can pants a novel. You can. This isn’t about people that are successfully pantsing novels, this is about pantsers who never finish their books. 

If you never finish an original book, especially if you never get much past the first 20K words and you always pants those books, pantsing is likely the root of your problem.

I say original because I’ve encountered a lot of writers who successfully pants fanfic that cannot do the same for original work, or cannot do the same when they first transition from exclusively writing fanfiction to writing original work. I had this experience in my teenage years moving from only writing marauders fanfictions to writing my own stories. 

There are a couple of reasons why not planning at all may be causing your issue:

1. You might not understand story structure well enough to make it up as you go along. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, we’re all learning how to be better writers. Get some books on story structure and write yourself an outline. At least cover the inciting incident, the midpoint turn, and how the story ends. I’d recommend something a bit more fleshed out like the 15 beat story structure as a template and just leaving blank a few items if they feel like overplanning. 

Structure books I recommend: 

Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody 

Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure by Janice Hardy

Character Arcs by Jordan McCollum

If this is your problem you may find that after a book or two written with the aid of some kind of outline you don’t need that anymore, or you need less and less detail. Don’t be afraid of trying pantsing again in the future. Your writing process should constantly be changing. That’s just you taking on the lessons of each book you write and applying it to the next.  

2. You might need some idea of what you’re writing towards to keep you motivated and interested in the story or to keep you from getting lost. 

If this is the case you’re probably some level of a planner at heart. I’d recommend you try a traditional structure like the 15 beat story structure, for that see my recommendations above, but you might also want to try simply planning the ending of your story. If you know the ending, you know what you’re writing towards. 

[gods-graveyard]

New version of work summary, thoughts?

The world does not work in extremes, it is a complicated mess aiming to keep the balance. But what lengths will you go to uphold what is a "nessicary sacrifice"? Good and Evil aren't so easily defined as Light and Dark. Sacrifices must be made on both sides to achieve their means to an end. To further their own ideals or for the "greater good" Harry was a pawn in a bigger game, a puppet from birth, and he was forced into a living hell for that reason. But he wasn't so naive- his upbringing didn't make him malleable, it made him cautious. He was the boy who lived- and with the help of his fellow snakes, he would continue living to spite both sides of a pointless war. He was Harry Motherfucking Potter And he was his own martyr thank you very much. “Sub pellibus ovium saepe mentem lupi abscondit” (Beneath the lamb's skin often lurks a wolf's mind) ______________________________________________________ (Will hopefully cover all books, HAPPY END. Also many ships not listed yet because Spoilers or Underage so AWAIT also @gods_graveyard on tumblr for more info/content)

For those interested just passed 60k words and 7k hits so WHOO (link below

[thewramblingwebcomicreview]

Oh yikes. We might have blown up the comments section on page 77 of Ascend on DeviantArt. What was a comment that started on about how unlikable the characters are exploded into people expressing the issues they’ve had with this webcomic’s writing. Some quick takeaways:

1. If a ton of people are expressing confusion about your story, something is not working.

2. If people are bored with your story and complain about the fanservice, something is not work.

3. Don’t be that author who claims they want critical feedback, but then fight with readers if the critique isn’t “polite” enough. It’s okay to point out if someone is being rude, but don’t be rude in return. And for the love of all that’s good, don’t call someone a “bigot” because called your character a self-insert.

4. Don’t block people and then unblock them just to argue.

5. Block rude people and move on. Take useful criticism and try to figure out in what ways your story can be improved.

And if you’re going to pay a well-known artist hundreds of dollars per page and have the comic uploaded to said artist’s DA page, be prepared for some criticism. One, because the content is literally pushed in front of people’s faces because they chose to watch the artist. Two, if the work isn’t as good as the artist’s own work, there’s going to be push back. Excellent artwork can’t save a story from subpar writing.

[thoushallwrite]

Writer's Tip

Anecdotes are the solution, my dears.

Stuck on what to write next? ANECDOTES.

Want to find some way to build character's background without infodumping? ANECDOTES.

Want to transition from action-to-action, paragraph-to-paragraph, etc.? ANECDOTES.

Want to show the growth or development of a relationship? ANECDOTES.

Far too many writers underestimate anecdotes. They are a tool that is crucial to your writing. Use it!

[ya-boi-haru]

WRITERS!!!?

One thing I really want to do with my OCs & Story is make it realistic even though it has the most unrealistic themes.

What I mean by this is that there may be people who have supernatural abilities and Aliens from other worlds, but I still want it to be believable and realistic on certain topics, especially heavier themes.

I want to know realistically how would a person go through withdrawal, how does one actually a "ptsd attack", how does one act in certain situations...

Where would I go for this type of thing? Website recommendations???