#writing is a process

[elleldoe]

Writing is more than just stringing words together.

My writing is my blood, sweat, and tears. It's my desires, my interests, my fears. It's my dwindling sanity. It's sleepless nights, fueled by the need to get the words out. It's my heart pounding in my chest because of too much caffeine. It's typos because my shaky fingers miss the keys. It's doubt, uncertainty, as I give myself over to the process, wondering if I'll manage to live up to my own expectations. It's guilt, devastation, when I feel like I can't. It's strength, perseverance, when I continue regardless. It's accomplishment, pride, a rush, when I'm satisfied with the result. It's change because, just like the words, I, too, have changed, a part of me now inextricably tied to what I have created, forever left behind on the page, by the time I'm done.

[paigetics]

okay ive thought about how much odysseus loves penelope enough that i feel like throwing up, which means im ready to work on the hades fic

[tvaccaro]

It's okay if your first draft sucks!

Creating is hard. You're literally sifting through the dark recesses of your mind piled to the brim with chaotic thoughts and ideas, and desperately hauling them out into the light. Of course it's gonna look like shit at first!

Be patient and kind to yourself. You need time to take what you've brought back, rearrange and experiment with it, and eventually curate it into a beautiful story.

You're still getting to know your work. Don't give up on it just before you discover the beauty beneath.

[artemesianerdmom]

Like many others, I was very concerned by NaNoWriMo’s recent post concerning the organization’s stance on AI. I like to keep things light on this blog, so here’s a meme summing up my feelings on the matter:

NaNoWriMo’s remarks concerning how the condemnation of AI is inherently ableist and classist struck me as truly bizarre. Maybe I’m throwing a blanket over the topic here, but it seems to me that all writers, whether abled or disabled, represented or underrepresented, generally have one goal in common:

To write.

I’ve never used generative AI in my own writing and I never plan to. Part of the fun for me is sitting there, staring at the end of my blank document trying to think of what happens next. Part of the fun is wrestling with that one sentence or paragraph, trying to figure out how to make it work or if I even need it at all. For me, having fun with my writing and finally surmounting the challenges I create for myself are what make those hours I spend drafting and revising and deleting and rewriting all worth it.

I continue to scratch my head over some of NaNoWriMo’s remarks about how the use of AI can be helpful for replacing human feedback. The organization’s full name is “National Novel Writing Month,” not “National Novel Editing Month,” after all. I know that they have resources for revision and publishing after the fact, but I always thought that the biggest thing NaNoWriMo pushed was the creation aspect of writing. I always saw the challenge as a way to compel myself to finish a draft in a short period of time, so the organization’s refusal to condemn the use of especially generative AI just doesn’t sit right with me.

I mean, what is the point of taking the NaNoWriMo challenge if you don’t Wri your No?

[leiatalon]

Hi again!

So, I ended up only being able to read The Eternal Library today, after my question a few days ago about what should I pick for the matchmaker setting at the start of the game. You told me that since I've been working towards the marriage during the entire game but just didn't convince the king at the end that he was the one who had the idea of the marriage alliance, I could pick either option. I actually tried both, and definitely the one where I tell the game I had the achievement feels more like a natural evolution of the previous game to me - I mean, based on the narration I had in that one and what not!

That aside, I really loved the game - the characters are delightful, and I have a huge soft spot for Collin! I had a small coding error with him though, if dancing with him in chapter 3. I got the line "You're a Tian maid", but my MC is male and using he/him pronouns.

I'm really intrigued as to where the story is going - I like the general "mood" of the story and how oppressive MC's life is. As "bad" as it is at the start, it makes any change all he more enjoyable. Makes me really excited for more!

Hi! Thanks so much for playing and sharing your feedback with me!

Alright, so I've changed the question in the intro. It no longer calls for the Matchmaker achievement, asking only if you convinced the king to pursue a marriage alliance between the Kitherin and Minare in Ink and Intrigue. Hopefully that will help others avoid confusion at the start and get the path that makes the most sense to bridge the two games.

I also found and fixed that bug so it will read servant instead of maid. I got my order mixed up in the code, there. Thank you for bringing that to my attention!

That fix and the adjustment to the intro question will get updated at the end of the month, when I'll be releasing the rest of chapter three into the public demo. ☺️

I'm so glad you're enjoying the darker tone of The Eternal Library. ⚔️ Big things are coming as the chapters unfold! 👑

[that-stanford-girlie]

the writers block is so real

i wanna work on the next chapters of bring it on and be my baby but i am genuinely unsure of what to do next

me and @cevans-is-classic are still working on our secret third thing destiel story but we haven’t touched it for a hot min cuz we don’t know how to make it go where it needs to go next

i don’t know how to work on the lil fics i’m doing on the side that have yet to see the light of day

ugh

[saythenametotheworld]

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I just finished reading plot twist and I noticed that this time Seungcheol is the one who says he's obsessed with reader?????? She didn't have to say it herself????? Seungcheol straight up just admits it????? I dont know if you wrote it that way on purpose but OH MY FREAKIJG GOD I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH!

i didn't think anyone would notice but AAAAAAH! I kept going back to the previous chapters to see how I could better write Plot Twist and I found that she often teased them about being obsessed with her (didn't realize it was a recurring thing until I reread the first three)

i really appreciate you noticing something so minor. thanks a lot!

[feralchaton]

There were silver spoons growing up, but I only got to polish them, then watch my family use them. Promises glazed in emptiness, blended with razors and glass atop a spork made of fool's gold. Traded in for bamboo and abalone on my own time. Jealous there were quarters instead of dimes for mine.

Finished throwing pipe bombs along bridges last week. Cast off, no lines, no trails, no roads. Free. First, they hate, then belittle, then copy, then fade. Watching from afar while fear creeps in, as hit by hit - blow by blow - each met with a growing smile. Masochistic tendencies learned in battle.

Sent death and famine; we sat playing rummy until dawn speaking of and to one another in hushed tones of reverence and understanding.

Sent devils to one who sees past the horns. Birthed of the same light; recognized and known. The ones who keep some safe at night, a place in which light can't abide. Where angels slay and demons play, and mirror one another. Light and shadow have the same home, hand in hand, together.

Threw caution to the wind but couldn't keep noses clean. Hands felt clammy and sticky. Some perceived power or greed? Something unfelt and unseen? Like a leech striking out blind in the wood. What is wished on others is what will be celebrated or endured.

We do not have to be saints to house a heart that is pure.

[londonhalcyon]

Speaking of the Ellipsus drafts feature, my Fallout big bang fic is going great.

[iwillkeepfighting]

rereading my own fic and eying the dwindling number of chapters remaining like

man this author better update soon

[fandom-sickness]

Vampire Sans / Reader

(Slow burn)

Chapter 2

I took out my lighter from my pocket and lit a candle. Thanks to the storm raging outside, the power had gone out, and I wasn’t going to share a room with a skeleton. I picked up the candle carefully.

“Please follow me to your room. Do you have a name?”

“You can call me Sans. What’s your name?”

“You can call me Y/N.”

He followed a little too close behind me, but if he was searching for sanctuary, then he must be scared.

“So, what exactly are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

It was hard seeing the way around even with a candle.

“Hehe, I thought it was obvious, you know, with the bones and all.”

We turned a corner and went up a flight of stairs.

“Well, I assumed that much, but…those teeth, are they like press-on or something?”

He started to laugh before smirking down at me.

“Oh, I can assure you, they are real.”

We got off at the third floor.

“If you look like that now, I wonder what you looked like before you died.”

We came to a standstill as I tried to remember which hallway to go down. I wanted his room the absolute furthest from mine.

He leaned against a window.

“Who says I died?”

I looked up at him for a moment.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just thought with you being a skeleton…”

“I didn’t die, I just cheated death.”

“Not from where I’m standing, you didn’t.”

I said as I looked him up and down.

He started to laugh again. His laugh was rough, but calming in a way.

“I didn’t expect a little thing like you to have jokes.”

I let out a sigh of annoyance.

“Who says I’m joking?”

We started walking again and eventually found the room. It had plenty of blankets and what looked to be a comfortable bed.

“This seems lovely, thank you.”

I gave a short nod and turned to leave to go back to my room, but suddenly he reached out and held my hand. I was to stunned to speak.

“I mean it, thank you.”

I could just barely make out his face in the dimly lit room. It wasn’t fearful or devious, but truly grateful.

“You’re welcome.”

After a second more of silence, I left and started back down to my room. It had been a very strange night, to say the least. I didn’t expect to meet Sans, and as wild as it might be to say, I think that if he stays for a little while, we could actually be good acquaintances.

I flopped onto my bed and sighed as, for once, the deep exhaustion finally won, and I finally fell into a deep sleep.

[miss-celestia13]

Sometimes, writing is fun and light and easy. It just happens and I trick myself into believing that it’ll always be that way.

Other times, writing is just me staring at the screen, screaming at it, begging it to write itself or asking the useless gods to grant me the brain cells to complete it because it’s broken me down.

I’m just. I can’t. I’ve had enough. I am not made for this life. I bit off more than I can chew and now it’s time to pay up, I am in severe debt. Fuck my life. Fuck the universe for telling me to be creative. Fuck me, fuck this story and fuck everything.

Okay, I’ve had my wee tantrum, now I can think again. This will be the death of me, but it will die first. If I’m going out, I’m taking something to hell with me. Lord knows, the devil might know some tricks to complete it. Plus I just like the idea of asking him; “Hi, would you like to proofread my smutty fanfiction?” I reckon he’d enjoy that, or he’d turn me to ash and I’ll finally be at peace 🤭

[artemesianerdmom]

Revision is a learning process.

For instance, I have learned that I am overly fond of the word “brandish” in my writing.

And to be clear, the context never involves a weapon. In the 7 instances I found in my novel, it was always “X brandished a finger.”

Ctrl+F is your friend!

[brittleroastedpeanut]

I think one thing that concerns me with storytelling is how some think that there’s a limit to how many times a trope should be used. Almost every trope has been used before, the issue with writing a one in a story shouldn’t be “this idea has been used before many times so they gotta do something else” it should be “this idea has been used before many times but are they putting their own spin on it to separate it from the rest”. I’ve seen many shows with the whole “hard work pays off” trope yet they were all different because of the characters, plot, setting, and so much else despite the similar messages. If you reduce every story to just it’s trope then it’ll all look the same.

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

Milestone reached: 30k words!

A little over 30k words now in my romantasy WIP, but really made this post to share my struggle with having to come up with character names. 90% of these characters have placeholders much like the one seen here. They'll have names....just not in this draft🤣

Some other placeholders I have:

[Asshole]

[Whathisface?]

[dude]

(and the one seen above is my new favorite:) [ANOTHERNAME?!]

What are some placeholders y'all use when you're drafting? Do you stick with "elephant" or do you try to short notes for yourself that way when you go back you kinda know what was supposed to be there? (Honestly that's my fear with using the "elephant" method🤣 I don't trust I'll remember the vibe I was going for or which specific elephant I was holding that place for😅)