#writingmotivation

[unravelingwhy]

my fave writing reminder

honestly, this phrase has been on my mind more times than i can count. i've kidnapped it, taken it as a hostage with no ransom money because i need it to live permanently in my head.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

✏️ Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like Real People, Not Theater Kids on Red Bull

(a crash course in vibes, verbal economy, and making your characters shut up already)

Okay. We need to talk about dialogue. Specifically: why everyone in your draft sounds like they’re in a high school improv group doing a dramatic reading of Riverdale fanfiction.

Before you panic, this is normal. Early dialogue is almost always too much. Too polished. Too "scripted." So if yours feels off? You’re not failing. You’re just doing Draft Zero Dialogue, and it’s time to revise it like a boss.

Here’s how to fix it.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎭 STEP ONE: DETOX THEATER ENERGY I say this with love: your characters are not all quippy geniuses. They do not need to deliver emotional monologues at every plot beat. They can just say things. Weird, half-finished, awkward things.

Real people:

interrupt each other

trail off mid-thought

dodge questions

contradict themselves

repeat stuff

change the subject randomly

Let your characters sound messy. Not every line needs to sparkle. In fact, the more effort you put into making dialogue ✨perfect✨, the more fake it sounds. Cut 30% of your clever lines and see what happens.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎤 STEP TWO: GIVE EACH CHARACTER A VERBAL FINGERPRINT The fastest way to make dialogue feel alive? Make everyone speak differently. Think rhythm, grammar, vocabulary, tone.

Some dials you can twist:

Long-winded vs. clipped

Formal vs. casual

Emojis of speech: sarcasm, filler words, expletives, slang

Sentence structure: do they talk in fragments? Run-ons? Spirals?

Emotion control: are they blunt, diplomatic, avoidant, performative?

Here’s a shortcut: imagine what your character sounds like over text. Are they the “lol okay” type or the “okie dokie artichokie 🌈✨” one? Now translate that into speech.

─────── ✦ ───────

🧠 STEP THREE: FUNCTION > FILLER Every line of dialogue should do something. Reveal something. Move something. Change something.

Ask:

Does this line push the plot forward?

Does it show character motivation/conflict/dynamic?

Does it create tension, add context, or raise a question?

If it’s just noise? It’s dead air. Cut it. Replace it with a glance. A gesture. A silence that says more.

TIP: look at a dialogue scene and remove every third line. Does the scene still work? Probably better.

─────── ✦ ───────

💥 STEP FOUR: REACTIVITY IS THE GOLD STANDARD Characters don’t talk into a void. They respond. And how they respond = the real juice.

Don’t just write back-and-forth ping pong. Write conflict, dodge, misunderstanding. If one character says something vulnerable, the other might joke. Or ignore it. Or say something cruel. That’s tension.

Dialogue is not just information exchange. It’s emotional strategy.

Try this exercise: A says something revealing. B lies. A notices, but pretends they don’t. B changes the subject. Now you’ve got a real scene.

─────── ✦ ───────

🔍 STEP FIVE: PAY ATTENTION TO POWER Every convo has a power dynamic, even if it’s tiny. Who’s steering? Who’s withholding? Who’s deflecting, chasing, challenging?

Power can shift line to line. That shift = tension. And tension = narrative fuel.

Write conversations like chess matches, not ping pong.

─────── ✦ ───────

✂️ STEP SIX: SCISSORS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND The best dialogue is often the second draft. Or third. Or fourth. First drafts are just you figuring out what everyone wants to say. Later drafts figure out what they actually would say.

Things to cut:

Greetings/closings ("Hi!" "Bye!"--skip it unless it serves tone)

Exposition disguised as chat

Obvious thoughts spoken aloud

Explaining jokes

Repeating what we already know

Readers are smart. Let them fill in blanks.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎧 STEP SEVEN: READ IT OUT LOUD (YES, REALLY) If you hate this step: too bad. It works. Read it. Mumbling is fine. Cringe is part of the ritual.

Ask yourself:

Would someone actually say this?

Does this sound like one person speaking, or a puppet show with one hand?

Where does the rhythm trip? Where’s the breath?

If you can’t say it out loud without wincing, the reader won’t make it either. Respect the vibe.

─────── ✦ ───────

🏁 TL;DR: If you want your dialogue to sound like real people, let your characters be real. Messy. Annoying. Human. Let them interrupt and lie and joke badly and say the wrong thing at the worst time.

Cut the improv class energy. Kill the urge to be ✨brilliant✨. And listen to how people talk when they’re scared, tired, pissed off, in love, or trying not to say what they mean.

That’s where the good stuff is.

—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // official advocate of awkward silences and one-word replies

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[jaggedjawjosh]

In her soul, she discovered that confidence wasn't loud, it was the quiet, steady voice whispering, 'I can, and I will.'

[worthymartyrconstruct]

The woman in the mirror isn’t me anymore.

I live alone. I’ve always kept my bathroom light on at night—habit from childhood, nothing more. But last week, something changed.

I got up at 3:12 AM (I remember because my phone lit up), walked past the bathroom, and saw myself in the mirror... already standing there. I hadn’t even stepped in yet.

She smiled. I didn’t.

I froze. It mimicked every move I made—but a second too slow. Like it was watching and deciding how to be me.

I’ve tried covering the mirror. It doesn’t help. Every night since, I’ve woken up at the same time.

She’s always there. Closer.

Last night, she didn’t copy me. She waved.

I didn’t.

[diorgie]

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.”

–Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

[clarislam]

Happy Monday, writers and readers!

Are you trying to figure out what your next writing project will be?

Here's a list of strategies for what you can do!

IMG 1: Image reads: "Strategies to figure out your next writing project:" 1. Pick a project at random and work on it, 2. Pick a project based on what genre you want to write in (mystery, fantasy, etc.) IMG 2: Image reads: "Strategies to figure out your next writing project:" 3. Pick a project based on which ones you already started and want to finish first, 4. Pick a project on what type of mood you want to write (lighthearted, angst, hurt/comfort, etc.)

Want to check out my work? Follow me at:

Website: https://clarislam.ca/ Newsletter:https://buttondown.email/clarislamauthor Carrd: https://clarislam.carrd.co

[saraswritingsanctuary]

15 Writing Challenges to Strengthen Your Characters and Plots

Writing a compelling story isn’t just about crafting beautiful sentences—it’s about developing strong characters and dynamic plots that keep readers engaged. Whether you’re a pantser who thrives on spontaneity or a plotter who loves detailed outlines, these 15 writing challenges will help you push the boundaries of your creativity. Character Development Challenges 1. The Silent Scene…

[jade-malay]

Perfection can paralyze progress. Just start. The magic is in the momentum.

[sinmisolaogunyinka]

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[alennyjenny]

Everytime the author reaches a point of emphasis, they start throwing in real cool words that I haven't heard before. I like it. It's like an artist pulling out weird tools to get the right shape or texture as they get into a part of the sculpture they really like

[angelicakatebooks]

[thatpigeongirl]

does anybody else think the first circle is much prettier cuz it’s not neat? or am I insane?

my fave writing reminder

honestly, this phrase has been on my mind more times than i can count. i've kidnapped it, taken it as a hostage with no ransom money because i need it to live permanently in my head.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🕳️ What to Write When You Have No Idea What Happens Next

aka: you’re staring into the creative abyss and the abyss is not only staring back, it’s asking for a rough draft

hi writer. welcome to that fun little liminal space in your project where ✨absolutely nothing✨ makes sense. you wrote the last scene. you know you’re not at the end. but suddenly your characters are just standing there like NPCs waiting for a quest marker and your brain is doing the spinning beachball of death.

so. what now?

let’s break down some actually useful strategies for when you hit That Point™️. not vibes. not ✨manifest your way out✨ energy. not the “just keep writing” slog. here’s what to do when your story is refusing to tell you what happens next:

———————————————

zoom out: do a “scene audit” ———————————————

you don’t need a full outline to do this. take five minutes and sketch a bullet list of every scene that’s happened so far. not just what happened, but why it mattered.

like this:

MC lied to their boss (sets up stakes re: trust/power)

antagonist shows up at cafe (establishes tension + location crossover)

best friend gets suspicious (emotional complication, adds pressure)

this gives you a birds-eye view of what you’ve set in motion. often you’re stuck because you’ve lost sight of the threads you were pulling, your own story has momentum, you just need to feel it again.

—————————————————————

try “ghost drafting” (aka fake writing) —————————————————————

open a doc. start typing what would happen, if you were writing. super casual. something like:

“okay i think the next scene is maybe them at the train station?? or wait--maybe we need to see the fallout of the argument. i don’t really know what x character wants rn but i think y might be planning something…”

this trick works bc it removes pressure. no fancy prose, no perfect structure. it’s literally you telling yourself what might happen. and weirdly? your brain will often finish the scene for you without asking. (the number of times I’ve ghost drafted myself into 800 usable words… witchcraft.)

——————————————————————————

pin your characters to a corkboard and interrogate them ——————————————————————————

not literally. (unless you're into that. i don’t judge.)

but seriously: when you’re stuck, it’s often because your character has no immediate goal or emotion. pause and ask:

what does this character want right now? like, in this moment?

what are they trying to avoid?

what’s keeping them from getting either?

character-driven scenes are rarely static. even if it’s just an awkward dinner or walking to the store, someone’s always trying to do or hide something. if everyone in the scene is just reacting or waiting, you’ve got fog. bring in the fire.

—————————————————

don’t skip the “boring” stuff--weaponize it —————————————————

sometimes we’re stuck because we think the next scene is dull. like “ugh i guess they just… travel to the manor” or “they regroup at the safe house.” but these slow beats are GOLD if you embed purpose.

try giving the “boring” scene:

a time limit or interruption (they’re hiding but someone knocks)

a secret (someone is lying about something small but important)

a reversal (what they expected is the opposite of what happens)

even if it’s a quiet scene, layer it. conflict isn’t just yelling or action. it’s discomfort. it’s misalignment. tension between what’s said and unsaid.

—————————————————————

when all else fails: write the next emotional beat —————————————————————

strip it back. forget plot. forget pacing. ask yourself:

then write that. a monologue. a journal entry. an outburst. a line of whispered dialogue.

sometimes it’s not that you don’t know what happens next. it’s that your character hasn’t processed what just happened, and until they do, the story can’t move forward.

✨✨✨

the void is normal. getting stuck doesn’t mean you failed or picked the wrong idea or that the muse packed up and left for a better writer’s house. it just means your brain needs space to regroup.

writing isn’t linear. stories aren’t built in perfect lines. they loop. they stall. they circle back. and that’s okay.

if you’re in the middle of nowhere, here’s your sign to sit on the side of the metaphorical road, open your weird little notebook, and write anyway. write wrong. write messy. write ghost drafts. the path shows up when you start walking.

🕳️ you got this, writer.

tag me if you end up crawling out of your stuck scene with a little victory paragraph. i’ll bring snacks for the next one 🧃✨

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[jaggedjawjosh]

In every heart I meet, I find a piece of my own, reminding me that with each step in empathy, I grow and light the way for others and myself.

[leedwriting]

Your Favorite Author’s Advice on Writer’s Block is Wrong Here’s What Actually Works

Tired of being told to “just write” or “wait for inspiration”? Spoiler: Those clichés are trash. Science has debunked the myth that writer’s block is a creative curse—it’s a fixable glitch. Here’s the real deal (prepare to side-eye your writing guru):

Freewriting is Brain Barf (And It Works): Ditch perfectionism. Write gibberish for 10 minutes. Studies show it shuts down your inner critic and unclogs ideas. Your first draft should suck.

Prompts > “Creativity”: Waiting for a muse? Laughable. Use prompts like “sentient toaster thriller” to jumpstart your brain. Structured weirdness beats blank-page paralysis.

Your Desk is Killing You: Coffee shop noise boosts creativity. Writing by hand sparks genius. If your “aesthetic workspace” isn’t working, blame science—not yourself.

The 5-Minute Lie: Tell yourself you’ll quit after five minutes. Spoiler: You won’t. Momentum beats motivation every time.

Move or Die: Sitting still stifles creativity. Walk, dance, or downward dog. Stanford proved motion sparks 60% more ideas.

Controversial truth? Writer’s block isn’t real—it’s procrastination in a beret. Stop romanticizing struggle. Your favorite author isn’t “magically inspired”; they use these hacks.

PS: Still stuck? Blame Mercury retrograde. Or admit you’d rather binge Netflix than write. 🍿

[zeithforge]

Where Do You Even Begin? Thoughts on Starting a Novel

Think writing a novel is just about scribbling down a few good ideas? (Sure, sometimes it starts with just a few good ideas… but it never stays that simple for long.)

It’s a full-throttle plunge into chaos — pulling characters out of thin air, wrestling a plot into shape, and staring down the beast known as self-doubt. It's brutal. It's beautiful. And if you’re brave enough, it’s yours for the taking.

A novel has the power to crack open hearts, start conversations, and leave a mark on the world. But first, it has to leave a mark on you — and that’s where the real magic happens.

I remember when I first started my novel, Shadow’s Embrace – The Mysterious Butler. It felt like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. I had a glimpse of the story, a million ideas for each chapter, and it was overwhelming! It was a wild mess of trial and error. It was tough, but that mess was part of what made it real. I wouldn’t trade that chaos for anything (except maybe those damn headaches).

And let’s be real — even after getting the first draft down, there’s still the polishing to make it shine. So, when you struggle to write, remember: it gets better, it gets clearer, and it gets to a point where you can look at it and say, “I wrote that.”