#writing troubles

[cursedbanalities]

Is it better to write 500 short stories or one novel? ‘Cause I’m trying my damndest to have stories hit novel length but I always lose interest or wrap them up before it hits even 25,000 words :/

…at least I can say I’m ✨trying.✨

[bagel-bird-ainsor]

I wish writing programs had layers like drawing programs do. Like I need a sketch, refinement, and inking layer… but for writing.

I don’t want to have to create separate documents or rewrite something later on in the same doc. I want to be able to toggle these “layers” on and off and be able to quick reference the other versions of what I’m editing.

Then again I’ve mostly just used google docs so maybe this does exist somewhere.

Idk is this a desire anyone else has experienced? I don’t write that much so I guess it makes sense that I’d want writing software to be more like drawing software

[yallemagne]

I got the people who said “I hate the idea of Jonathan and Lucy knowing each other in any capacity before the plot of Dracula” playing in my head as my new reason to be insecure about my writing.

Doesn’t mean I’m gonna drop my childhood friends narrative, fuck you. Jonathan is not allowed to have a singular friend in his twenty-one years of life besides his fiancée? Fuck off. Telling me he’s been with Mina for so long and never met her best friend even once? Nah nah nah.

It’s a neat parallel to the Suitors’ dynamic where they met when they were kids and grew closer over the years, except this trio splintered into two duos early on because of Societal Expectations. I’m gonna keep writing it, I’m just gonna be incredibly insecure, which is baseline for me >:0.

[abhainnwhump]

There's this little thing I like to call Passive Villain Syndrome (probably an actual term for it somewhere but I don't know it), which is where the villain of a story is introduced, the reader is told how evil they are and then . . . they don't do anything until the story needs a climax or the series needs a finale.

My biggest issue with this is that it reduces what could be an interesting and memorable character to a mere obstacle, a plot device. They're evil and they're said to do evil things. It's hard to explain, but it's just boring. It's a similar reason where I don't like stories about a kind character becoming evil just by grabbing a knife and going on a killing spree with a crazed smile. You can put any character in that scenario and they don't stand out. Am I saying you need a deep complex motive for your villains? No, some of my favorite villains are evil because it's fun. But the key thing is that they have creative ways of causing pain and chaos and they feel like a real threat. This got a bit off topic, but my point is these kinds of villains aren't memorable. Your villain should have as much thought put into them as the hero so there is tension and a sense of danger.

It also causes "show don't tell" violations where the reader is told how twisted and dangerous a villain is, but they're never shown. It's worse when the villain is defeated in about 3 pages after all that build up. (cough cough Harry Potter cough cough)

Yes, I know wanting mystery around the villain is a thing. But even something as simple as the villain holding one of the hero's friends captive as they torture them is something. Or keep the identity of the villain a secret, but throughout the story, murders or crimes happen that apply more pressure on the hero to not only find who's doing this, but to also stop them. Present day events, not flashbacks, that's important. I also suggest having smaller encounters throughout the story to build a relationship between the two, put some personal stakes and grudges between them.

TLDR: Please have main villains that don't sit off on the sidelines of the story until the climax needs to happen.

[yjcorefourenjoyer]

Please tell me I’m not the only one who actually jumps for joy when they find out how to start the next chapter in their fic

[ghost-bxrd]

I think I vaguely remember that achilles screamed and cried so loud that thetis was able to hear him from the depths of the sea. I feel like gotham villains would feel a collective jolt out of nowhere 😔 (and tim amd Alfred might feel a bit of an ache in their hearts💔)

… Pls I still need to actually write that part how am I supposed to do that when I’m a sobbing little pile on the floor omg 😭😭😭😭

[thatboreddrake]

If I could get some advice from my writer friends. So I have a WIP that's been sitting in my folder for, oh... over a year now. I know for a fact that, once its finished, I'll need to do almost a complete rewrite, as several key bits of characterization have changed between its inception and now.

Do I finish the first draft and then rewrite, or just go ahead and start the second draft?

[4rticbolt]

CRYING.

I HAVE 12 FREAKING DRAFTS THAT ARE ALL MY DIFFERENT WRITING PERSONALITIES AND HALF-DONES

WHAT DO I DOOOOOOO

I’m living through the 5 stages of grief rn.

LIFE GIVE ME MOTIVATIONNN

[loreleiloonsdarkascension]

I'm kind of upset. I got too caught up in making "the perfect fanfiction." And now I'm tired and the spark is gone. I want to get it back because I really love the dynamic I created. And the relationship between Astarion and Laithe has a lot of pathos to it that I want to do justice to. Maybe I need to meditate or something. I'll pick myself up and try again. Ain't too late for it, but I'm tired. If anyone has any Ascended Astarion fangirling vibes to send, I would much appreciate it <33

[metalomagnetic]

I just realised I forgot to include a pretty important scene in my last update of 'It runs in the blood'.

I guess this is what happens when I write without structure or drafts or too many plans, thinking 'I'll remember to add that when the time comes'.

Well, I didn't remember.

I don't know how I'll get myself out of this one 😂

[gayassassinscreed]

what does one do when they lack the inspiration to write? fuck i really want to write something, even a short story, but i can't get the muse to flow. i've tried looking at prompts but not doing anything for me 😮‍💨

[cursedbanalities]

My time as a writer is 90% “oh my god what the hell is this?????? this is a trash fire, a very, VERY disgusting sheet of paper that hurts the very fabric of my being” and 10% “I’m watching movie in my head and my hands are doing the work. Yay :)”

100% of the time though, this results in a draft that gets buried under all the others.

[themightyhumanbroom]

Here's the situation folks.

I do my writing in two places. The first place is on my phone. Quickly jotting down ideas and dialogue. I get a lot of the initial writing done this way.

The second place is at my computer. There I get the formatting, editing, and more intricate stuff done. Writing down stuff that's easier to think through at a computer.

Here's the problem though. After a long day at work, my recliner and bed are a loooooot more comfortable than my computer chair. It's a great chair but not as comfy as the other two. I'm not joking when I say this absolutely hamstrings my output. Doesn't help their are games on the computer that can distract me as well.

A conundrum for the ages.

[yallemagne]

My brain is melting. I’m composing, in my head, dialogue for a fanfic where Exiles Morph and TAS/‘97 Morph get swapped in some multiverse hijinks. It would be great if I could think up a basic outline of like what mission the Exiles would have to do to return this Morph and get their Morph back but all I have is SCENES no PLOT.

Just covering the differences between the two Morphs and how their teams react to the swap and Exiles Morph being like “in this universe I’m NONBINARY and BANGING THE WOLVERINE???”

[honeyandthunderstorms]

do you ever start writing and then get so overwhelmed, just to get on tumblr and doom scroll until you find the motivation again? no? just me?

[yjcorefourenjoyer]

ya see now is the time where i wish I had a beta reader

Update: GOT ONE :D