#writing is a process

[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.

[jacquelynlscott]

🥉 Three Elements for Writing the Setting of Your Story

🔑 The setting of a story is where and when your book happens. Your book setting is important because almost everything your character does will be affected by when and where they do them.

The three elements for how to write your story setting are time, location, and environment.

⌛ Time

Time is the when of your story. When thinking about your book, consider these when’s:

📅 What year? Your time period affects everything about your character. What clothes they wear, the technology and language they use, and their ability to move and interact in the world. A person in 1700 Europe isn’t going to use a cell phone to call someone, just like a person in 2023 United States isn’t going to speak Middle English.

🍁 What time of year? Is it winter, spring, summer, or fall? A character living in a Canadian winter isn’t going to spend time outdoors in a t-shirt and shorts. A person visiting Arizona in the middle of summer likely isn’t going to walk around in a jacket and jeans, no matter how stylish.

⌚ What time of day? This is more significant for scenes than the book as a whole. You can use the time of day to create a particular mood, such as nighttime for a feeling of danger or mystery. You should also consider the time of day for what your character is about to do. For example, someone likely isn’t going jewelry heisting at noon on a Monday.

⏳ Is time passing? Pay attention to how time is unfolding throughout your scenes and story as a whole. You have to account for any time that passes between scenes, when characters travel, or when you insert a flashback. Make sure your reader knows when your scene is happening, or they’ll be lost.

🗺️ Location

The location of your story is as broad as the country and region and as specific as the neighborhood or house. Like the time period, the location of your setting will affect your characters in all aspects of their lives: what they wear, how they speak, if they walk or drive or take the bus, etc.

If your book is fantasy, you will need to do some very detailed world-building work. A fantastic resource for this is The World Building Leviathan from Kittyspace.

🌲 Environment

The environment of your manuscript includes the physical world and social, political, and cultural influences of the time and location.

Take into consideration the environment’s climate and how it impacts your characters. For example, a character living in the tropics will have a vastly different life than someone living in the mountains of North Carolina.

What is the cultural, political, and social environment like in your character’s time period and hometown? These aspects can impact what your character believes in and the different values they hold dear. Societal norms vary across time and place, and it will take a lot of research to make sure you’re getting it right.

🙅‍♀️ Setting Don’ts

Newer authors often think they need a lot of exposition about the setting up front. This is called a “data dump,” and they are often very difficult to read. You don’t want to bore your readers with a lot of information about your world upfront. Rather, allow your setting to reveal itself slowly, either through your character or short bits of exposition throughout.

If you’re writing a fantasy or historical novel, avoid treating everyday objects as novelties. Even if that object is unique to you, it would not be unique to your character. If something is supposed to be ordinary to your character, treat it like it’s ordinary.

Check out jacquelynlscott.com for a free downloadable setting worksheet to help you think through the setting of your book or scene.

[the-exhausted-author]

Can I just skip to the part where my stories already have a fandom and I can just look up fan content? Like I just want to see gif sets and mood boards of my characters without having to actually write the story or being the one to make them, is that so hard to ask??

[capsicle13]

WIP GAME

Tagged by @sleeplessmidnight26 and @blackwood4stucky

Rules: In a new post, post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

fics with * have working titles

fics in italics are loosely plotted out but are not currently in production

fics in bold are currently in production

fics with 😮‍💨 will be planned and written some time in the future.

Fics by series

• Creating Happiness

• Thing Called Love

Oneshots/stand-alone

•Runaways

• Be Here for You

•Hiding the Truth

• A Favor

• It Has Always Been You

• Artificial Love

• Incomplete

• Tony’s Instagram Stories

• Love Shouldn’t Hurt

• Something Special

• Start Again

• Learning to Love Again

• A Second Chance

• Undercover

• Consequences

•Superfamily Drabbles

• Down for the Ride

• New Beginnings

• Carry the Weight

• Selfish Love

• His Omega

• Keep A Secret

• One More Night

• Our Growing Family

• A Second Chance At Happiness

• Forgiveness Is How We Move On

• Closure 😮‍💨

• One and Done 😮‍💨

• Family Is Everything 😮‍💨

• Cursed 😮‍💨

• Missing Piece 😮‍💨

No pressure tags: @snazzyerin @stark-and-shield @greenblueasu @bigbearbigworld @hannahshattuck @sleeplessmidnight26

[tswwwit]

Downsides of writing texting: Many

Upsides of writing texting: Showing how eager someone is via uncharacteristic typos in a reply

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Reminder About Old Asks

The Screenshot of Coding Bloopers is here to remind everyone that my answers to asks, particularly old ones, may or may not be accurate to the current state of the game. I've noticed a few folks going through the deep archives, and that's awesome! I'm thrilled that we've inspired you to spend some quality time with the Tumblr!

Made Marion has evolved a great deal since 2020, and while the spirit of the characters has been pretty consistent throughout, many details have changed. Gui (aka Sir Definitely Not Geoffrey in the above image) in particular has evolved because he was the last character I added to the main cast and I didn't entirely know where his story was going when I first started posting here.

As another example, in one post I imply that Alanna and Layton have an intimate relationship. The original idea was that they were occasional lovers without an emotional connection, but several things changed. First, I axed the scene surrounding that fact a long time ago. It just wasn't very good. Second, I decided Alanna is lesbian and thus she's thoroughly uninterested in what Layton is packin'. She still has a history of casual affairs, just not with be-penised individuals.

Also also, occasionally I lie or omit important information for spoiler reasons.

So please keep in mind that asks are super fun but may or may not reflect the state of the game at launch!

[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 🤭

[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.

[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.

[generic-whumperz]

It’s really ghetto that I can’t just like upload my thoughts to the computer which could then magically beep-boop vibes into words for me :’)

[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😅)

[jacquelynlscott]

✍️ How to Develop Your Main Character

🚧  The two building blocks of good fiction are plot structure and character development. Writing a compelling main character (MC) is important because if your reader feels like your protagonist (protagonist means your leading character; there can be multiple) is one-dimensional or boring, they may not bother finishing your book.

❓ The three basic questions in main character writing are:

Who is your MC?

What does your MC want?

What is keeping them from getting it?

🧍 Who is Your Main Character?

Your main character is the reason people read your book, and however you build them, they need to be well-defined and behave in consistent ways. When drafting your characters, consider their:

Age

Background

Habits and mannerisms

Occupation

Personality and beliefs

Physical description

Relationships

📝  It helps to write out character sheets and ask yourself questions about every aspect of your character’s life. There are some great resources that can help with this, like The Mother of All Character Questionnaires by Johnn Four. While it’s originally for building D&D characters, it works for any kind of character development.

😶‍🌫️ Remember, though, that your main character needs flaws because nobody is perfect. On the flip side of this, if they’re unlikable with all the flaws in the world, they need a redeeming quality that lets the reader sympathize with them.

🤌 What Does Your Main Character Want?

Readers root for a character who desperately wants something because we, as humans, desperately want things. This is how you get readers invested in your character’s story. The want stimulates empathy from your reader because they want your MC to get it (whatever it is) just as badly as your MC wants it.

A relatively new concept that comes out of Millennials and Gen Z is a lack instead of a want. For example, your MC might be anxious or depressed with a lack of self-awareness or empathy.

🛑  What is Keeping Your Main Character From Getting It?

Whatever it is that’s keeping your main character from getting what they want creates tension and conflict and drives the plot forward. This could be the antagonist (the person who actively opposes the protagonist), a skill the MC needs to learn, the MC’s socioeconomic status, etc. The more obstacles standing in the way of your MC’s happiness, the better.

Whatever you do, don’t let your MC have what they want right off the bat. They don’t deserve it yet. They have to work for it and experience character growth before they can have it. Your job as the writer is to put as many roadblocks in their path as you can possibly think up.

🌈 Character Arcs

Every main character needs an arc. Basically, that means they need to be different from where they started. This change doesn’t have to be dramatic, though it certainly can be if you want. Your MC can do a complete 180-degree shift, or maybe they just turn a little to the left. Either way, they learn something and change just a bit.

Some character arcs to consider:

Getting what they wanted all along, but it isn’t what they thought.

Never getting what they wanted.

Never getting what they wanted but they don’t even want it anymore because they found something better or realized it was the wrong thing all along.

Dying along the way, though be wary of melodrama and other creative writing mistakes to avoid.

[the-exhausted-author]

I wish I could just take my brain out of my skull and just stamp that shit on some paper and then boom, there’s my novel. Would be so much quicker and easier than whatever this shit is.

[writingwhimsey]

I just wanted to ask if you are planning to continue your married to the enemy series

Thank you for caring about and asking on this series. It is in fact one I do plan to get back to. Once I get through my celebration event I plan working on my next warlord Ava fic but also alternating on some other projects (I have a lot of fics I want to get back to). I'm going to try to alternate on which fics I work on. Just between real life and how fickle my muse can be some things just take a bit longer than others.

[thewritingsofdreamers]

Reader: “This book carved a hole out of my heart, successfully destroying my mind and soul while it made me sob in complete despair and sorrow.”

Also the reader: “Here, read it!”

[cerealboxlore]

Out of curiosity

Have I written any snippets of ideas y'all want me to write fully fleshed out?

I have a mountain of WIPs to write, but I'd like to know what y'all want