#you're not STUCK on the FIRST draft of anything you make. you can always try again

[boilingheart]

most important thing i've learned through my years of drawing is YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP THE FIRST DRAFT/ATTEMPT. if it doesn't feel right just throw it away! try again! just kill it! try again! 9/10 trying again gets me the results than just cleaning the first one over and over.

this already feels a lot better. the first one felt like she was floating but when i decided to just stop trying to fix it and just start over, i got IMMEDIATE results.

[tlbodine]

Stuck? Try junebugging.

I don't know who needs to hear this, but we're 5 days into nanowrimo so maybe this will be helpful.

Do you want the safety and surety of knowing what happens next in your story but can't stick to an outline? Does knowing in advance what will happen suck the joy out of discovery writing? Do you try to wing it through plots but get tangled in plot holes or have a story that runs out of steam because you can't figure out what went wrong? Are you at your most creative when you have a little bit of guidance? Do you tend to under-write? Do you get ideas in your head for random scenes and snippets that drop from the sky without context?

If any of these apply to you, junebugging a draft might be for you!

What Is Junebugging?

Since you're on Tumblr, you might already be familiar with the concept of junebugging as it relates to cleaning. If not -- I think the idea was first introduced to me by @jumpingjacktrash.

The basic idea is that you tackle cleaning by way of controlled chaos. You pick a specific area you want to focus on, like your kitchen sink, and then wander off to deal with other things as they occur to you, but always returning back to that area. You end up cleaning a little bit at a time in an order that may not make sense to an outsider but which keeps you from getting overwhelmed and discouraged.

How Does Junebugging Work in Writing?

OK, so that's great, but how does this work with writing? Well. In my case, the general idea is to jump between writing linearly, outlining, and writing out of order. It usually looks something like:

Start free-writing a scene, feeling my way through it and enjoying the discovery process.

Thinking, ok, now I have this scene, did anything need to happen to lead up to it? Do I need to go back and add some foreshadowing? Does this scene set anything up that needs to be paid off? And then jump forward/back to make those adjustments.

I'll usually have a bunch of disconnected ideas of ideas that have popped into my head, so I'll write those down in a list somewhere and then try to figure out what goes in between them and what order it goes in.

I'll write what I call "micro-scenes" which is where I'll just sketch out a few essential elements of what's going on without worrying too much about details, description, etc. -- just he did this, she said that, the setting was this, real bare-bones script. Then I can come back through and flesh out each of those microscenes into an actual scene later.

Got a story that has a complex structure? No problem. Write through each storyline one at a time and then chop them up and weave them together afterward. Write all the B plot scenes first then come back through to do A plot and C plot. Move the pieces around like legos. No one ever has to know.

This method works for me because I can't "decide" story elements in advance. I have never been able to just sit down and "figure out" what happens in a story beyond a couple steps ahead -- I have to discovery-write my way forward. But at the same time, that gets really daunting. So I zoom forward with micro-scenes, roughing out the beats in the most bare-bones way possible, then when I run out of clear vision for what happens next I backtrack, flesh out those scenes, build in connective tissue, etc. and by then I will probably find more inspiration to jump forward.

It's basically folding drafting, outlining, and revising all together into a single phase of writing, which is chaotic and goes against everything people teach you, but if it works? then it fuckin works.

Anyway, sorry for the jumbled-up post, I'm dashing this off quickly while I heat up a pizza and I'm about to dive back into my WIP -- but I hope this was a little helpful. If nothing else, take this as my blanket permission that it's 100% OK to jump around, write out of order, write messy, outline sometimes, pants sometimes, and do whatever else it takes just to get through the story. You've got this. Good luck.

[wildesqdreams]

you and i

pairing - grayson hawthorne x fem!reader.

summary - grayson hawthorne has a hard time living for just himself. but the love that he shares with y/n will always make him feel at ease.

warnings - this is set before the first book, so none, only kissing and romance.

navigation | masterlist | request | taglist

a/n: this has been stuck in my drafts for a long time, and i finally finished it :) now, i will be getting to your requests.

the bed slightly dipped, as the boy climbed in besides her. he was trying to be very quiet since it was already night, and everything was peaceful.

but he failed, when he felt y/n stir and turn around, facing him, "where were you?" her voice was a little raspy, and grayson couldn't help but smile at her tired state.

the girl had stayed up, waiting for her boyfriend, but soon sleep took over her and she went to bed. her arm wrapped around his waist as she snuggled closer to him, missing his warmth.

"just had to do some papers," his hand went to her waist, pulling her closer to his chest.

"you should take a break."

"hm."

"you know i'm right."

silence.

grayson hawthorne played an important role in his family. he wasn't the eldest nor the youngest, but almost everything stood on his shoulders. he was raised differently than his brothers. one day, he was going to inherit the heir, so it was important for grayson to do everything right. not make a single mistake.

but how can a person be happy if he can't let himself slip? if he can't let himself breathe and let go.

that's why y/n didn't let him get lost in the hawthorne life. even though grayson has a strong character, the girl isn't afraid to speak her mind. that's what pulled the boy towards her. the wise heart. the honesty. and of course the love that she gave to others.

"just because others have made unrealistic expectations about you doesn't mean you should follow them. you are your own person, grayson. sometimes it's okay to take a break, even if some may get mad."

and just like that, grayson fell in love with her even more.

"you know," his hand went to her cheek, "sometimes i wonder how lucky i got with you," he stroked her skin, his touch making goosebumps appear on her arms.

"i think you should stop with that cheesy crap," the girl smiled and rolled on her back.

not even a second later his hand went to her hip and she felt light kisses be planted on her neck, "i can't help it if i have a beautiful girl with me," his lips moved along her jaw, stopping upbove hers, "but you are so much more then beautiful to me, y/n."

"i'm serious about what i said grayson," she looked into his eyes, her hand went to the back of his neck, "i love you and i don't want you to over stress yourself. i just want to help."

"believe me, you're helping me a lot, love," with that, his lips connected with hers, into a passionate kiss. and in this moment, grayson hawthorne was reminded again that no amount of money was as important as the girl beneath him.

with the love that they felt for each other, the couple would get through anything. just as long as they were together.

taglist: @noaboacoa @mochamvgz

[a-dumb-sarcastic-bisexual]

More headcanons of the Nimona trio being domestic dorks

Whenever the trio gets sick of each other they’ll ask the person in the trio they’re not pissed at to handle them

It always goes something like this “Ambrosius come get your kid they won’t leave me alone-“ “No Nemesis come get your husband he’s being a stick in the mud”

Or “Bal go get your son from prison he got arrested again” “Oh so he’s my son today?” “Yes when he’s stupid enough to get caught he’s your son” 

If you're wondering why Nimona doesn't just escape its cause they find it hilarious when Bal has to come to bail them out at random points in the day

There are also times when they’re proud or happy and they’ll say things like “I’m gonna go get my daughter ice cream” “Since when is she just your daughter?” “Since right now when she helped me fix my prosthetic” 

“Hey boss where’s my Nemesis I heard he got in a fight today” “I thought he was my Nemesis” “Not when he puts three guys in the hospital he’s not” 

Bal is one of those people who sees something and says “Why would I buy that when I can just make it” AND HE DOES

Nimona has a bad habit of fucking up speakers so Bal just set up a sound system throughout the house 

If the trio weren’t such antisocial losers with three friends combined their parties would be amazing

He made Ambrosius a skincare cabinet just so he could put actual medicine in the medicine cabinet 

When Nimona moved in he asked them what their ideal room would look like 

She gave him a rough draft and he did all of it

They spend a week tearing that room apart so they could soundproof it so she could rock out without disturbing the boys

She has sick ass LED lights and she’ll change the colors depending on her mood 

Ambrosius and Bal helped her paint the walls the most obnoxious shade of neon pink And then they didn’t complain when she spray painted over said walls 

It’s worth it to see her visibly relax when she enters her room

This man has gutted and put back together and rearranged their little house so many times it’s unrecognizable 

I also feel like everyone in the trio is a crafty bitch

They all have a million little hobbies that have produced even more trinkets that fill up their whole house 

Their house is this weird combination of comfy yet chaotic and it's a minimalists nightmare 

Cleaning is also a nightmare but they wouldn't change it for anything 

Back when they were in the institute Ambrosius was a terrible cook -♾️/10 his cooking would put people in the hospital 

After the knighting ceremony was the first time he was living by himself and didn’t have access to free food so he taught himself how to cook

Honestly most people would think he would give up

I mean there are only so many times you set water on fire before you throw in the towel

But he's a stubborn brat and cooking took his mind off of everything so he stuck with it

One day Bal came home to the smell of cooking and he assumed it was Nimona 

He swears to this day he had a heart attack when he saw Ambrosius in front of the stove and Nimona comfortably sitting at the dinner table not helping at all

He promptly dragged Nimona out of there like a bomb just went off and warned him not to touch Ambrosius’ food

He told Bal “The more you call it a biohazard the more I want to eat it” 

So Bal used him like a test dummy 

When Nimona finally did try it they turned to Bal and complained that he lied 

Bal thought he was being pranked until he was forced by Nimona to try the food 

And it was good 

More than good I was fucking amazing 

He asked Ambrosius quite frankly “Who are you and what have you done with my husband” 

Ambrosius just rolled his eyes and told him to eat the food

Bal never gave up on finding out how and slowly but surely he started asking like a normal person

And Ambrosius never answered like a normal person

His answers would range from “A chef never reveals his secrets” (“that’s a magician love” “just zip it and eat your food”) to “I’m never telling you so suffer and finish this meal I lovingly cooked” (“is it still considered love if you knew I was gonna suffer?” “Yes” “…. Makes sense”)

[nanowrimo]

4 Ways To Cure Writer’s Block

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. NovelPad, a 2023 NaNoWriMo sponsor, is a novel drafting software designed to make it easy for writers to write. Today, they're sharing a few tips to help you beat writer's block:

NovelPad loves NaNoWriMo because we have the same goal: Helping authors get the thing done!

Starting a book is usually fun and easy—your fingers dance across the keyboard as you explore an exciting world, meet your characters, and stir up intrigue for the coming plot. But once you get into the weeds of how that all works, and how you and your characters get from Point A to Point B, you might find yourself losing momentum. You might find yourself so encumbered with obstacles that you might get a case of the dreaded writer’s block.

The very good news is that writer’s block isn’t terminal, and I certainly don’t think writer’s block is as enigmatic as some people seem to think. I believe it’s actually quite a simple problem, and usually due to one of a few common factors. Let’s look at four ways you can push yourself through your case of ye olde block.

1. Check in with yourself.

Step one is always to check in with yourself. 

Start by reviewing your basic self-care needs:

Are you staying hydrated?

Do you feel hungry?

Would a shower or a nap be beneficial?

Is it time for a walk or some stretching exercises?

Consider your environment as well. Maybe you need:

Noise-canceling headphones

A change of scenery

A babysitter or someone to help around the house

To open or close some windows

Next, evaluate your level of focus. Is your mind wandering elsewhere? It can be useful to create a "dump list" to jot down anything that's causing you stress, such as work-related issues, pending tasks, or upcoming events. Setting that list aside can give you the tangible feeling of pushing those things off your desk to worry about later.

Once your body, mind, and environment are sorted out, you'll likely discover that writing becomes a bit easier!

2. Look back at where you’ve been.

Even if the first tip did or did not do the trick, let’s take a look at the project itself.

Sometimes writer’s block is a blessing in disguise! Your creative gut might be telling you that something went awry. Try reading your project back and pinpointing where it became difficult to keep going. Consider alternate plots or paths to get your writing flowing again.

If you're managing multiple plots and subplots, identifying the moment you deviated from the main path can be quite challenging. To pinpoint which plot line is causing issues, you can take advantage of NovelPad's handy feature: Plot tracking.

On the Plot Board, you can review every scene of a particular plot in order, making spotting those errors in your plotlines much easier.

3. Rewrite a problem scene.

Once you've identified the scene causing issues, it's time to make improvements! This can be challenging because there are countless ways to approach a scene.

However, don't hesitate to embrace revisions. Often, a scene benefits from a thorough rewrite. With NovelPad Revisions, you can save limitless scene revisions, compare them side by side, and effortlessly switch to the one they want in the live manuscript. This keeps your different versions safe, well-organized, and readily accessible.

4. Freewrite to free yourself.

Freewriting is a great way to get your creativity flowing again. Write some poetry, compose a letter to a friend, or simply let your thoughts flow without judgment. Freewriting without judgment can help turn on your writer mode and even help you solve some problems! It's especially beneficial when you're stuck on something specific, because we often find brilliant solutions when we stop being so critical of our ideas.

Kick writer’s block off your desk with NovelPad! It's free to use throughout NaNoWriMo, and we offer discounts to participants and winners afterward. If you find that NovelPad isn't your cup of tea by the end of November, don't worry—you can still access and download your project at any time. Just write!

Our team at NovelPad believes in making it easy for writers to complete their books. That’s why we built an uncomplicated, intuitive system that stays out of the way until you need it! We want writers like you to #JustWrite without burdening you with excessive features. Speaking of features, software updates at NovelPad are based entirely on user feedback from authors to keep our features sharp, relevant, and minimalist.

All NaNoWriMo participants have access to a 15% discount on NovelPad with code WRIMO2023 — use the code during checkout to redeem your discount. Offer expires April 1, 2024.

Top photo by Richard Dykes on Unsplash.

[desertfangs]

Since you write a lot do you have tips for people who want to write more?

Hi, anon! I can sure try and tell you some of what works for me!

Ignore advice that you don’t find helpful (that includes these tips!)

Writing is a process, but your writing process is always going to be unique to you, so if something doesn’t work for you, trying to implement it is only going to make you miserable. Like some people will tell you to write every day, but sometimes the pressure of that is going to be too much. Basically anything that doesn’t work for you, chuck it in the bin. You don’t need it.

Put your word processor in full screen

I write in Scrivener, which has a “composition mode” but you can also just put your document on full screen to minimize distractions. That way it’s harder to flip over to check Discord or Tumblr or whatever. Of course, I still exit out of full screen every time I need to look something up in the thesaurus and then I end up spending 15 minutes screwing around on the internet so you know, it's not a perfect system.

Work on several things at once and don’t be afraid to step away if a story isn’t working

Granted, my writing method is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, so I tend to start a lot of stuff that fizzles out after a few paragraphs (or a few thousand words 😭😭) and I know juggling multiple things does not work for everyone.

I personally usually need at least 2 current WIPs, so I can switch to the second when I get stuck on the first. This means even while I’m ruminating on one fic, I’m writing another. But I have friends who literally can’t write on more than one project at a time or their brains will explode, so again, it’s just about what works best for you.

[BRACKETS]

If you’re stuck on something like a detail or a fact you need to look up or a piece of dialogue (“How the fuck would Lestat respond to THAT?” is my constant refrain, my cats are tired of hearing it), just put something in brackets like [Lestat replies with something flirty or witty] or [Fact check if X] or whatever it is, and then you can move on and keep going and not lose your momentum.

Set a Timer

If you're struggling to make yourself focus and write, set a timer for 10, 15, 25 minutes (whatever increment of time works for you!) and write until it goes off. You can keep going after if you're on a roll, or your can stop for a while, but it will get you into the mindset of writing. And even if that's all you do that day, hey, you wrote for 10 minutes!

Kill your need for perfection and that critic in your brain

I am still working on this but it’s true! You can make your WIP more perfect in editing. The old adage that you can’t fix a blank page is correct. And honestly, a lot of times I will write something and think ‘ugh this is no good’ and then go back and read it weeks later and really dig it. Or I figure out what it needs to make it better. (Or sometimes it still sucks and we just pretend it never happened.) But no one else has to see your first drafts! So don’t stress about making the first draft super good or agonize too much over word choice. Just get words on the page and worry about making it better later.

I hope you find some of that helpful, Anon!

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi! Do you have any tips on what to do when you get stuck on the small details when writing? I love writing when I get in the flow, but when I'm writing during a dry day and I get stuck on trying to find the perfect word to fit, I can't move past it and I get distracted instead because I lose focus. I know as a first draft, I should not get stuck; but it feels like if I don't find the word now, then by the time the second draft comes along; I wont remember what I was trying to say and lost a chunck of impact. Do you haveany tips that could help to not get stuck in the moment, but still allow one to revisit the point for fixing?

Avoid Getting Stuck During First Draft

It's not that you shouldn't get stuck during the first draft. It's just that you should try not to get stuck on things that aren't ultimately important to the first draft.

So, word choice for example... if you come to a point where you need a particular word, and you don't know that word--or don't know the perfect synonym for that word--just put in a placeholder with the word you know or a short description of what you're trying to say. For example:

Kiera perched carefully at the edge of the [word that means "rocks sticking out from a cliff's edge] and gazed into the distance.

You can put this in brackets but also bold it, highlight it, or use a different font color so that you don't miss it when you're doing your revision.

Placeholders work for all sorts of things, not just word choice. You can use placeholders for information you don't know or haven't figured out yet:

Kiera pulled out her [some sort of futuristic binoculars that allow her to see miles and miles out... maybe some kind of infrared, too, showing lifeforms] and scanned the horizon.

Characters:

It had been more than three moons since she'd seen [MMC], and she wasn't sure she'd see him again.

Places:

Twenty years back, Kiera had done a mission in [Desert City] with Tazmin.

Special Details to be researched:

Tazmin investigated her wound. The blade had [some sort of superficial cut that is bleeding but wouldn't require stitches] Kiera's arm.

And so on. Really, anything that you don't know right now and can spend time figuring out later.

Placeholders allow you to keep writing when you're in writing mode, so that you can make progress without constantly losing steam to look things up and figure things out.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[horce-divorce]

something something about the power imbalance inherent to being an unhoused person, how similar it is to the dependency that abusers intentionally foster in their relationships to keep victims from leaving. but if you're homeless and someone is putting you up, especially if it's for free/some kind of exchange other than rent, you're basically expected to put up with whatever indignity they can imagine for you and still just be grateful. And if you set a boundary or speak up for yourself in any kind of way, that's Taking Advantage of this poor kind person who's doing SO much for you already, how could you?

sorry its 2am and I'm trying to write a better draft about this for later too but its like. being homeless is a huge, huge vulnerability. ppl people will look to exploit that, intentionally or not. and doubly so if you're homeless because you're disabled.

also something the ableism involved... about how I know so many fellow disabled people who have struggled with homelessness, and we all have similar stories about people we trusted, friends or loved ones who seemed all too happy to help and take us in, and how we repeatedly impressed upon them the nature of our health and the situation, and they swore up and down that they understood and that we were on the same page about boundaries and expectations... only to have them blow up and kick us out at the absolute first sign of conflict or miscommunication, or because we didn't get jobs fast enough, or because we didn't contribute financially even after being told that wasn't expected, and so on.

and how, I know so many housed people who have never been through this, who all have very similar stories about how they tried to help a friend in need once, and they were SO lazy and horrible and took SO long to get their shit together that they clearly were just a freeloader taking advantage who should've never been trusted, just like all homeless people, and that's why we give them socks and canned beans instead of money.

I was never allowed to complain about ableist expectations or abled people ignoring my boundaries in my parents' home. Especially not after I became a disabled adult who still needed help with housing. And that's been true of most of the couch-hopping I've done since then, too.

Currently we have a fairly nice situation... we live with a trusted and pleasant friend. It's a whole house, not an apartment. Not even in the city. We have our own entire room. We don't have to pay rent or anything. It's temporary even aside from our discomfort, it's just been a nice place to land for the cold months.

However. Friends parents are not so chill. Their dad is the most disgusting man alive and has repeatedly gotten us sick bc he's always got something, bleeds all over and never cleans it up, never washes his hands, leaves his dentures on countertops and tables with food still stuck on them, coughs all over our stuff and never masks, is actively making the mouse infestation worse with all the food he leaves out, and puts our health at risk in SO many ways.

he used to work in Healthcare btw. His wife still does. They know we're here bc we're homeless; they know we're both disabled and immunocompromised; neither of them will wear a mask. Both of them are constantly coughing everywhere and not even covering their mouths. We've tried to politely bring this to their attention multiple times and nothing changes. They just ignore us.

We could literally die from this. We could get lifelong health complications even worse than what we have now. Bel lost his sense of taste today and now we're terrified that it's gonna be long covid or something else that sucks what little joy is left from our daily lives.

You lose everything, and then you're supposed to just say nothing and accept your lot, no matter how much danger you're in, because beggars can't be choosers. If you're disabled and poor you'd better just be fine with people abusing you and putting your health and safety at risk indefinitely, because you're lucky they're even helping you at all instead of JUST abusing you.

You dont get to have a home. You dont get to collect things, or keep sentimental things, or have a whole, adequate wardrobe. You get what you can carry with you and what won't get stolen or destroyed by others, or by the nature of moving so much. You dont get to have safety and stability and roots and community. You dont get the dignity of boundaries or your own space. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. And be happy and say "thank you" if people are merely ignoring you instead of actively silencing you. And if the people "helping" you actually give you the thing that kills you, at least you didn't die of exposure, I guess? Or something?

Its just. Every single thing you do as both a homeless & disabled person reminds you how utterly worthless you are to the """normal""" people around you. Every day. It's so demoralizing.

[onyxbird]

OK, the idea of a soulmate au where you can't look anyone but your soulmate directly in the eyes was not done with me yet.

Leverage version:

Sophie knows all the tricks for faking full eye contact. For a third-party observer, it's nigh-impossible to tell that she's not quite achieving direct eye contact short of using cameras with very good eye-tracking software. Trying to fool a mark into thinking she's their soulmate via “eye contact” is tougher, but on a mark who hasn't met their own soulmate (and thus has never experienced true full eye contact), Sophie still has a pretty good success rate. Every member of the team has been drafted as her fake soulmate on a con at least once. Or, at least, Sophie has tried. Parker failed to pick up on any of the hints Sophie was able to drop without blowing their cover, so Sophie had to switch tactics. Hardison tried valiantly to hold the near-eye-contact, and they pulled off the job, but he was struggling and his resulting nervous blather did not help the illusion at all. Eliot picked up her cues and pulled off the illusion flawlessly… and hated every second of it. The first time they faked prolonged eye contact, he ducked away to Nate's bathroom the second they got in the door, and Sophie (slightly insulted) wondered if he was going to throw up. He didn't, just practically boiled his skin off in the hottest shower he could stand. Nate is by far Sophie's most frequent “soulmate” on the job… None of the rest of the team are entirely sure whether the eye contact is fake or not, and neither Nate nor Sophie is telling.

Parker has never had any interest in making eye contact, and was genuinely unaware that this was a serious thing people actually believe in. (Sure, people talk about finding their “soulmate” through eye contact, but people also talk about summoning Bloody Mary through the bathroom mirror. That doesn't mean it's real.) The first time she looked directly into Hardison's eyes was both accidental and jarring. She averted her eyes and assumed they would never mention this uncomfortable situation again. She was not expecting Hardison to suddenly want to have an intense, excited conversation that was clearly loaded with some meaning she wasn't picking up on, and she definitely wasn't expecting him to do so while trying to eagerly stare into her eyeballs. When Eliot happened to walk in, she latched onto him like a spooked cat, demanding he do something about Hardison; there was something wrong with him, like he's possessed or something; make him stop!

Eliot has habitually avoided even the possibility of eye contact with anyone since he was in high school. (He certainly wasn't trying to lock eyes with people even before that, but, well, he and Aimee had tried once, back when they were young and naive and thought maybe they were meant to be. They weren't.) In his line of work… it was better not to know. There was just no way that would end well. He doesn't have anything against other people finding their soulmates, though. Really. So he's not quite sure why there's such a bite to his words when he snaps at Hardison to knock it off—that “soulmates” is no excuse for trying to look someone in the eye when they don't like it. But he's sure he can feel a headache forming as he's stuck between Parker's “'Soulmates'! Ha! …Oh, come on. You're kidding, right? That's not real” from one side and Hardison's horrified “Oh my god, I'm sorry! Parker, I am so, so sorry—I was just so excited, you know? I didn't realize—” start of what was clearly going to be a long and heartfelt apology on the other.

Hardison thinks soulmates are very romantic, and he's always hoped, you know? He tries not to talk too openly about it—dreaming of finding your soulmate was deemed “girly” and “wussy” by the popular boys at his high school, and he had more than enough targets on his back for bullying as a kid without drawing attention this one. He's always kind of thought he'd probably never find his, if he even had one. He did so much of his socializing with like-minded people online, and you can't make eye contact—not real eye contact—over a webcam. There have been some near misses that made his heart flip (Hell, back during that first Dubenich job, when Eliot had taken out all the Pierson guards and then given him that smug little smirk, for an instant—just for an instant—Hardison had almost thought their eyes met directly. He must have imagined it, too caught up in the incredibly sexy and unexpected display of competence on display in front of him to avoid a split second of daydreaming about what it would feel like to look straight into those incredibly blue eyes. Anyway, it had never happened again, and after working together for so long, they surely would have looked each other in the eyes by now if it were possible.), but no dice. Until now. Parker, though… Even while apologizing (he should have realized to be more careful with Parker), Hardison could barely keep the absolutely giddy smile off his face. There had been no mistaking that, and god when people talked about “getting lost” in their soulmate's eyes… Wow, they weren't kidding!

Nate will expound at length about how the concept of “soulmates” and consequently the act of making eye contact have been exploited and commercialized for all of recorded history, the absence of any scientific evidence that the rare ability to make eye contact with another person actually correlates with any real measures of relationship compatibility rather than being a random biological quirk that has been superstitiously fetishized, and (if the person who brought it up isn't desperately trying to escape the conversation yet) whether the concept soulmates is compatible with Catholic theology. Very few people last long enough through his disparagement of the entire concept to notice that he has skirted around ever actually saying whether or not he's ever made direct eye contact with another person, and even fewer are willing to risk touching off another lengthy tirade to press him on the matter.

Thanks @soulmate-au-bargain-bin for the fun idea!

[shy-urban-hobbit]

Aiden stared at the ceiling of the wagon which doubled up as an infirmary - in the sense that it had a couple of chests of potions and rudimentary first aid supplies shoved in one corner - trying to ignore the throbbing in his leg. It was bad enough that he'd broken it misjudging the landing after he fell from the tightrope, he didn't want to add to the humiliation by looking like he couldn't handle a little pain.

He heard the rustle of cloth followed by an "Oi." And someone tapping on his splint with a booted foot, causing him to cry out and clutch at the damaged limb.

"Dickhead." He hissed at the interloper.

Sev merely grinned, unrepentant as he squatted down and held out a vial. Older than Aiden, he'd already been on the path a handful of years and was always the first to track him down and show off any new scars earned when they came back for the winter whilst Aiden filled him in on the gossip and any relevant changes to hierarchy around Dyn Marv with all the weight of a child imparting a great secret (which to be fair, a good portion of what he shared would make for excellent blackmail material. Loose tongues ran rampant under the security of home and drink and until you started on the Path, people had a habit of forgetting you actually existed outside of training or chores).

"At least now it's hurting enough you don't have to be a fucking martyr about doing something about it. Drink."

Aiden did so, wincing at the taste despite the healing draft being watered down to make it stretch further (and to not accidentally kill the newly Grassed until they had a better idea of their tolerance to Witcher potions). He had his doubts when the others told him he'd get used to it in time.

"While you're waiting for that to kick in. Fancy a couple of games?" Sev asked, pulling a gwent deck out from somewhere.

"I still don't know how to play."

Sev raised a blond eyebrow, "Fucking hell, how do you actually pass the time here? Aside from throwing yourself out of trees."

Aiden stuck his tongue out in response, "S'not like we get a chance to earn any cards when we ain't allowed to leave here."

"C'mon, I'll teach you now then." Sev said sitting cross-legged next to the bedroll and blankets Aiden was occupying and shuffling through the deck.

"Why?"

"You got anything better to do? Alright, so these are your basic cards."

They managed to get three games in - all of which Aiden lost soundly - before Sev got more or less dragged out to join everybody else for the night before they headed back out again the following morning.

"Here." He said, slipping Aiden a handful of cards "I got doubles of these and they do jack shit in most plays anyway so you're doing me a favour taking them. Get a headstart on your classmates before you head out."

Sev never came back that winter. Nor any of the following.

"Alright. How the fuck did you even manage that?" Lambert asked as he took in the cards on the rickety table in front of them, the top one was so worn it was getting difficult to discern the picture. That didn't stop it from winning its owner the game though.

"I told you. Lucky." Aiden smirked as he gathered up the cards before shuffling through them, plucking out the others which were just as worn and discoloured before handing their more pristine doubles back to Lambert, "Here. You can keep these ones."

Lambert's brow furrowed, "Why? They're in way better condition than the copies you have. Where'd you even get them anyway?"

Aiden placed them in their customary place on the top of his deck. All apart from the healer card, which he tucked into an inside breast pocket of his coat, "A friend."

[mxtantrights]

Can you Do a Dick Grayson x Fem! Reader, where the Reader ends up in the Batverse and both discover they're Soulmates and crisis erased the readers earth, plus family. They bond and starting to talk about everything, he's comforting her and offers her to move in. Both fall in love and marry two years after, reader is a Chinese-German girl

-

a/n: this has been in my drafts for a while and I'm so sorry about that. at first I was stuck because I wanted to write this but I didn't know how to write from the perspective of a Chinese-German reader. So I made the background neutral. I hope that's okay!

so I loved this request thank you so much for sending it in! I didn't focus on the Chinese-German aspect, and left it fairly neutral. As always you can imaging this how you want.

The last thing you remember is going to bed. Everything was fine-everything was normal. You had work in the morning, you had already ironed your clothes and were thinking about which place to go to for lunch. Everything was fine.

Then you woke up in someone else's bed. The sheets were silky black. And the furniture in the room didn't look anything like yours. You try to wrap your head around it-maybe you had a one night stand and forgot to go home?

But wouldn't you remember that?

You get up with a start and look down at your body. Clothes are still intact. No one night stand, you sigh in relief. You crawl out of the bed and look for the door.

Once you find it, you pull it open. And right there waiting for you is the most gorgeous man you've ever seen. Blue eyes. Black hair. Pretty smile.

"Hi baby, I've got breakfast on the stove but I wanted to know if you wanna try the new creamer?" he asks.

You cock your head to the side. You understand every word he's saying, except one. Baby. Baby? Who was he calling baby? Was there someone else he was speaking to in the room? Were you in one of those invisible dreams?

All of a sudden his hand comes up and brushes your chin.

"Baby?" he asks again.

And it hits you then and there that he's talking to you! He's calling you baby! Your mind automatically think it's a dream. That you may have woken up but that was part of this dream. You were still sleeping.

Your only response is to hum. You watch as he glides into the bedroom, he says something about you being able to sleep through almost anything but somehow you were awake right now.

You don't feel like it.

This has to be a dream.

-

A week into this new life, you find out it is not dream. You keep going to sleep but waking up here. Here, in this world with Dick Grayson. Every night he comes home to you, kisses you on the cheek and says goodnight.

You've learned a lot about him while he's busy. When he's at work you look him up freely. Son of Bruce Wayne. Cop. Heartbreaker.

And you do your best to make all this information seem like old news to you. If you can't he'll see right through you.

There's also the fact that he comes in late at night or very early in morning. While you know what his official job is, you don't know what it is he does at night. What causes him to come home with bloody knuckles, cuts to the lip and fresh bruises.

You want to ask but you know that if you do, you'll give it all away. He'll know that this isn't your world. And you'll be out on the street with no way of helping yourself get back home.

So for a week you keep your questions to yourself.

Until you can't help it.

He comes in at two am in the morning. He's clinching his side and wincing with every step he takes. You get out of bed right then and there. You can't stand to see him in pain.

"Okay you have to tell me what's going on." you say.

Dick looks at you sweetly, "It's just a tough case baby. Don't worry."

"I don't think the department has great insurance to cover you getting beat up like this." you reply.

"This isn't that bad." he answers.

"Isn't that bad?! Dick you're barely breathing right now!"

He cocks his head to the side at your outburst. You curse yourself. If you didn't give yourself away this whole week, you just did it. He's a detective after all.

"You're not my girlfriend." he states.

You gulp, "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie to me. You've been different since that morning, you're not her." he explains.

You sigh and sit on the bed. With your head dropped to the floor you debate on the words to use. How exactly do you tell him that this isn't your world. That you come from a world where superheroes and vigilantes don't exist.

"I don't know how it happened. I went to sleep one night and then next thing I know I'm waking up on your silk sheets." you answer honestly.

There's a moment of silence. And then Dick grunts. You pick your head up to view him. He's pulling a jacket on over his clothes. You get up from the bed quickly.

"We need to talk to Bruce."

-

You're sitting in the dinning room. It's quiet except for the faint sound of voices coming from the other room. It's Dick and his father, and his brothers. They're all talking about you.

When you first got here, you were met with weary looks. Apparently they could all tell you didn't fit in here. But Dick hadn't caught it and he was the only person you talked to since you arrived.

You explained to them as best you could. And then Dick ushered you into the dinning room. They needed to deliberate the situation. Which meant they were talking about you in a whole other room like you were a problem to solve.

You wanted to go home badly. But you wanted to be a part of the process. What if they ended up sending you to another world? What if you got stuck there?

The door opens and you turn around to see who it is that's come to talk to you.

A man in a trench coat.

You don't recognize him. It makes you stand up from your seat.

"If you're gonna blast me to another world can we make sure it's the right one?" you ask, the words tumbling out of your mouth faster than you can think.

The man laughs, "I like this one."

This one?

You scoff, "This one has a name."

"Yeah, and apparently it's the same one as the woman of this world, but you're not her."

You notice the way he says it. Like he knows you. Or not you, her. The you of this world.

"You knew her?" you ask.

He nods his head, "She and I go back a bit. She'd want to come home."

"I want to go home too. I'd do anything." you admit.

"Good, because I need to look inside your mind."

You decide to not give him any backtalk. Why would you? You want to go home so badly. If you got a headache or a migraine from this you wouldn't care.

The man instructs you to lay on the table. Which freaks you out. But you try to not let your nervousness show. You do as he says and lay flat on the table. You shut your eyes.

He tells you to relax and that the process will be painless.

He lies.

Once you feel him in your mind, it feels like someone is scratching the inside of your head. It feels uncomfortable. And then when eh goes perusing into your memories it feels even worse.

As he gets to a week ago, you feel your skin getting hotter. Your breath shaky.

You can see it.

You go to bed. Everything is normal. Your alarm clock is set. Your clothes are laid out for the next day. All the lights are off. And you doze off.

Behind your eyelids you see it. How the darkness transforms into a blinding light. You open your eye at the last second but you can see nothing. Just a bright light, and how hot everything is against your skin.

You lurch off the table with a gasp.

In-between your distress your eyes catch people running into the room. Dick, his brothers and his father. Dick comes to your side and takes your hand into his.

"You're okay. Everything is fine." he tries soothing you.

You shake your head, "No it's not. None of this is okay."

You look over at the man who looked into your mind. He's looking at you with grim features. Nothing about what you saw was good, but looking at him makes you double sure.

"He clears his throat.

"She's from a crisis Earth. It got erased." he answers.

Crisis Earth? What does that mean? As you look at Dick you realize that it means something to the others in the room. Something bad, based on their faces.

-

It takes time to come to terms with the fact that you can't go home. It's explained to you over and over again but your brain doesn't let you believe it.

You walk around like a zombie for the first few weeks. Dick let's you take the spare room in his apartment. Sleeping in the same bed with him felt weird when you realized that you weren't leaving, and his you wasn't coming back anytime soon.

Constantine, the man who looked into your mind, told you that the mechanics of what happened were are. You came from one world to the next, and pushed the you of this world out. He didn't say if out meant that the other you was gone for good or just lost.

It makes you toss and turn at night. You feel like you're to blame for all of this. Even though you didn't do anything.

Sleep doesn't come easy to you.

One night you have a nightmare. You can picture it so clearly. That night when you went to bed and everything changed. How your skin felt like it was being burned. How you couldn't see anything but the bright hot light.

Dick has to wake you up. He grabs a hold of your shoulders and shakes you awake. You sob and sob. He consoles you the best he can knowing that you're not his. It's odd. It's unshakable. It's not right.

-

About six months in you have a job. You work enough hours to afford a place on your own. Which is what prompted you to get the job in the first place.

But as you're boxing up the few things you've collected since you're arrival, you find yourself not wanting to leave. Maybe it's because Dick is the only person who knows what you're going through. The only person to show you grace and help you out.

You do your best to power through it.

And when you finally get the last box tapped up, Dick comes bolting in your room. You had planned on leaving while he was at work, but that plan is thwarted.

"We're you just going to leave without saying goodbye?" he asks you bluntly.

You swipe your hands on the back of your pants.

"I know me being here is just a constant reminder of what you lost, I thought I'd save you the heartache." you answer sadly.

You pick up the box and move past him and to the other boxes that are pilled up next to the front door. He moves in sync with you. Living with him for six months meant that the two of you coexisted. You learned each other's routines, behaviors, habits.

Dick grabs the box from you before you can put it down yourself.

"I don't want you to leave." he says.

You look at him sharply.

"Dick, I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me. But I can't stay here, it's not fair to you." you explain.

But you can see with the more words you speak, the more agitated he gets.

"Who said it's not fair? I didn't say that. Ask me what I think about this!" he replies.

You sigh, "You're not thinking straight. I have her face. You want her, not me."

Dick stops for a moment. He places his hands on his hips and gives you a look you can't read. You weren't good at reading him like he is you.

"I want you to stay. I don't want you to move. I don't want you out of my life, and it's not because I think you're her or that you're replacing her."

You look at him then. Confusion is all you have on your mind. Why would he want a constant reminder of what he lost around? Why would he want you to stay?

"I was supposed to sign the lease today."

"Please, please don't sign that lease. Please don't leave." Dick says.

[iraprince]

Hey Ira how do you finish stuff? i've been working on a project for months and i just cant find a way to complete it

see, the thing is my first instinctive response to this question was "idk, because i feel like i never finish anything either!"

i mean, obviously i DO, i finish stuff for work etc and if i really never finished anything then there would be nothing on this blog. but from where i'm standing it feels like the amount of stuff i've actually finished is like, a tiny tiny drop in the massive ocean of stuff i've THOUGHT about or WANT to do or maybe have even STARTED but are all collecting dust on the back burner

i think ive had the idea for project catboy since, like, 2017 or something, and i still only have the first draft outline done; i keep thinking i'm not ready to do it justice yet. i think the villains win has existed for a similar amount of time as a concept and i DID finally start it but i've been too busy/occupied w other things to continue. i've been wanting to open an online shop and sell prints + merch for years now, and have done maybe one or two steps in that direction, but then it keeps stalling and getting lost amidst my other more pressing to-dos

basically: i am always working on projects for months (and years!) and never finding ways to complete them, and any personal project i do end up finishing feels like a huge outlier most of the time

so i don't really have solid advice bc i struggle w it so much myself, but i guess i do have a "hey, you're not alone." just keep banging away at things and eventually some of it will pop through, even if most of it doesn't. if i try really hard to skim over the stuff that DOES get done and find a common thread, it's either 1. i literally Had to (work stuff etc,) or 2. i was EXTREMELY passionate/excited about it, and i had a plan/the scope was visible + digestible (i knew how it was going to end or i was kind of aware of all the parts that needed to come together, rather than just kind of writing/drawing endlessly into the abyss without being able to visualize how much progress i was making). if there's no end in sight, maybe the next best step is getting more specific/granular about what the end would actually look like; a lot of times i find that i THINK i know what a project would need to be done, but in reality it's all just a pretty vague concept in my head, and i never actually sat down and hammered out the steps of what i need to do/make! if you have a fixed endpoint, you can ALWAYS be inching toward it, even if it takes forever.

(also, do it shittier. im being so serious. whenever u get really stuck, do a shitty job just to get onto the next step. if you hit the finish line you can always go back and improve/redo things, but a lot of times you might look back and be like "actually the low effort version is fine, in the big picture")

[pyrrhiccomedy]

Hi! I wonder if you could rec some books that are helpful for writing - I love everything you write and your language style. I'm kind of a writer myself and recently I got stuck in this phase where I just couldn't improve my writing... or don't know how to. I tried to read more, but most of them faded away in my brain after a day or two. I'm also curious, in terms of writing techniques, how do you usually write

[2]? Do you always go back and re-edit it? How do you deal with the writer’s block? Do you take notes while reading to learn from them, such as dialogues or stuff? I hope this is ok to ask - and good luck with any ongoing projects you have right now!

I'm not sure what you mean by books that are 'helpful for writing' - if you mean books about writing, I don't think I've read one since I was like, 14. If you mean books that will inspire you to write...I think inspiration is so personal. I think you should read widely, and read at or above your reading level as much as possible. Chuck Palahnuik, Kurt Vonnegut, and Shirley Jackson are probably the writers who influenced my prose style the most.

The best way to improve as a writer is to find a good editor. I mean somebody who will read your work open-mindedly and with love, but who will also take a big red pen and cross out 70% of it and explain to you, kindly but firmly, why what you wrote is garbage. I have been lucky enough to have a few editors in my life (starting with my dad, when I was like, 12) whose opinions on prose and storytelling I respected, and who were cheerfully merciless in applying them to me. I will always be grateful that they gave me enough credit as an aspiring artist who hoped to improve that they were willing to blowtorch my darlings before my eyes. It's a bracing but invaluable experience.

My process is always the same, no matter what I'm writing. I slam through a first draft as fast as possible. The first draft is shit. That's the point of the first draft. I usually don't even know what my story is about until I finish the first draft, I'm just trying to hunt down good character moments, good scenes, good lines, and a framework for a story that I can rake out of the muck later. Nobody sees the first draft but me.

Then I walk away from it and I don't look at it for a while. If it's a short story, that might be for just a day; if it's something longer, I might walk away for a week or more. Then I come back and re-read it, in a relaxed but critical mood. It's not longer "my writing" at this point: it's just a piece of writing, and I'm going to read it to find out if it's any good.

It isn't. That's fine. I take my big red pen, and I start planning out how I'd fix it, the same way I'd approach editing a stranger's work.

The second draft might bear only a passing resemblance to the first draft, but now I have a plan, and I know where I'm actually going with the material. The second draft takes much longer to write. It's a more thoughtful process. I re-read the first draft often, to keep in touch with what it was about this story in its raw form that made me want to tell it.

Then I submit the second draft to one of those priceless, merciless editors in my life. My wife is my go-to these days. She takes a turn pulling the piece apart and figuring out how she would fix it.

When I'm done re-tooling it based on that feedback, I'm usually happy with what I've got.

I don't know if I believe in writer's block. I think you either want to write or you don't. You can psyche yourself out of doing anything; writing isn't special. You can make anything stressful or unfun or a referendum on your worthiness as a person if you're anxious enough about it.

I think that if you're not getting better at something, you're either not practicing enough, not challenging yourself, not seeking honest feedback, or not applying the feedback you've received.

Writers are frequently annoying people, who think their ~craft~ has special rules that don't apply to any other human endeavor. It's just a skill, like any other skill. Take the same discipline and humility to writing as you would to learning a language, or learning to run a mile, or learning how to build a cabinet. You'll get better.

[forever--darling]

Hiiii! Your writing is just *chef's kiss*. Like seriously, I, for some time couldn't read anything, just like, I couldn't focus on the story, yk? Anyways, your Neteyam story got me glued to my screen!! It was so amazing, you deserve an award!

Do you have any tips to a fellow writer, to improve her writing? Thank you!

this ask has my heart! I was waiting for this one.

tips

1. practice practice practice. seriously the only way to perfect your craft. I have been writing for years and over that time I have grown so much into my own style. that being said, when you start out present yourself with some grace. you may write something and not like it one bit and that's okay. it is a first draft for a reason.

2. read as much as you can. this was how I found what I liked and didn't like with writing styles. take note of what your favorite authors do or what writing pieces really stuck for you. note why it did. ---- for me, descriptions and lots of detail became what I preferred.

3. ^^^ with this though that doesn't mean copying word for word what authors say. identify what techniques they use that you like or certain themes and use them for inspiration.

4. outlines. I find these to be my savior. I use my notes app because it's always close by. when I have an idea I write it down. this way you can brainstorm and plan out the story. however, this also means you aren't obligated to follow it. outlines are not meant to be static. if you have thoughts while you're writing or a new idea, go with it. adjust your outline as you go.

5. dictionary, google, etc. research, and research if you are unsure of a phrase, the right word being used, or a topic. take breaks if it feels like it's too much. also, use google as a tool to spice up your writing and exchange words here and there. just don't overuse it. you want your voice to still shine through the writing.

6. take breaks, writing is energy-consuming, and sometimes you may feel pressure to finish with deadlines but your brain and hands need a break once in a while. eat or sleep or read something else, to rest your mind from writing. it will make your writing better in the future.

7. most of all writing has no bounds, especially fiction, rules are bendable and follow what your heart is saying. write about what inspires you and what you're passionate about. also let me reiterate, be kind to yourself and don't compare. you are your own person with your own style.

8. lastly, honorable mention: I like to make picture boards and playlists. anything to help me better visualize the plot and setting I am trying to convey, as well as my characters. it's a fun little activity and it adds so much to the aesthetic!

[toxicanonymity]

Hello Toxy 💙

I have a question for u if it’s not too much trouble, is there any writing advice u might have to offer ?😇

I’ve written stuff before, but that’s like many many years ago but I’ve been thinking about trying that again for a long, long time and yesterday I actually started writing something. It’s very much a self insert story written firstly for me combining my experiences with my fantasy. What I’ve written so far is mostly prologue containing of character description and just from the third person perspective, honestly I’m scared to get into dialogue and writing from different perspectives. And let’s not talk about smut it’ll take a long time before I get there but scary nonetheless 🫠🫠

Well, anyway, I hope you have a great day and take care of yourself 💙

Hello! I'm honored you ask. . . Sounds like you're off to a great start. IRL provides great inspiration. I can share some thoughts as an amateur who's still learning. Thanks for asking, and have a great weekend 💙

Dialogue

Take your time finding the character's voice if you don't hear it yet. You can focus on what's being said, then go back and adjust it for how.

If you have a long line, say it in your head or out loud and see whether it feels like a long time for someone to be talking without interruption or anything else happening. Relative to the situation.

You can include little non-dialogue things that aren't too distracting but remind the reader about the rest of the setting.

What is it in the conversation that makes it your character / makes it your story? As opposed to being dialogue that could be from anything.

Body language and nonverbal communication.

If you want to practice / work on developing a certain character, you could write yourself a blurb in a different situation.

Remember you can always go back and edit. You can start with a rough idea of what you want them to say. So don't worry about all this up front.

General things that help me

Commiting to a "bad first draft" I can improve on.

Using brackets for things to come back to. Like [She gets her period].

Describing what's happening without thinking about the quality of "writing."

Focusing on communicating what's in my head, sometimes even in the mentality of sending a long text to a friend if stuck.

Changing up which font & page color I write with.

Writing stuff I feel like, trusting my gut and not worrying about whether anyone will think it's weird.

reading / IRL book club, listening to audio books. Whatever genre you feel like. I don't read romance, but all reading helps. I'm still learning new words (looking at you, jonathan franzen 🙄). And my experience as a reader reminds me to give readers more credit for how much they'll pick up on and be able to keep track of / follow.

Saying "fuck it we ball," lol. Which I'm doing with this post, because otherwise I could overthink and take forever.

Things that have not served me as well

Keeping stories and plans mostly in my head with a chaotic scattering of notes and chunks spread across 4 applications, sometimes in multiple untitled files per app. this ""worked"" for a long time but caught up with me mentally.

When you're ready for smut, we can go there 😅

And feel free to follow up if you want to talk about anything specific. I don't have all the answers, but my inbox and DMs are open.

[raccoonfallsharder]

I read recently that you answered a similar question, so I wanted to ask you for some advice with description in general, (character actions, description of environment or scenery, what is happening at that moment, etc) I have a lot of problems with this. If I want to describe the scenery, I don't know what else to say besides the color of the sky xD I've always had that problem and when I read what I write I feel it's very basic and childish.

For example, I wrote something like this, "The weather couldn't be more perfect, the sky was clear with not a single cloud obstructing that deep bright blue, the breeze was so soft it caressed my skin and the waves were gently lapping." So I read this and I say, how boring, I feel like I'm not connecting with this, and it happens to me mostly when I want to describe a person's actions, for example, if they are smiling and then someone says something to them that bothers them, how they react? I don't know how to describe it.

So I wanted to ask you for advice because since I read your first fic I thought "this is it, this is what I want to get to with my writing" I hope you don't mind my asking and I hope you're doing great, I always read all your fics even if I don't comment <3.

sweet little sugar snap pea. ♡ first of all, you are so lovely and kind. thank you for honoring me with this ask. it's a privilege and i am really grateful you think so well of my writing. truly, it means a lot. i took some time to think about this because it was important to me to give you a real answer. i'm also gonna come back and reblog this later with some thoughts on writing peoples reactions/perspectives? for now, i'm just going to focus on writing environments, if that's okay? sorry i just write too fucken much all the time ꃋᴖꃋ ♡♡

so as always, i'll preface this with the reminder that everyones' writing style is unique and brings something precious to the table, and while we can always grow and enrich our writing, what you create is wonderfully you. what we want is for you to figure out how to tap into your own style more fully, more authentically, and more clearly. i don't think there's anything wrong with the excerpt you shared, and i can also see where you might want to make it more identifiably you.

here are some things that have worked for me personally:

firstly: i take out my "telling not showing" sentences. i might draft it with the sky was perfect, but on revision, i usually remove it because it's too heavy. i don't want to tell my reader that the sky was perfect. i want them to interpret it from how i've described it. i don't want to say the kiss was good - i want them to know what it tasted like or the way it made their nerves pop and snap and sizzle. i don't want to say he had beautiful eyes - i want you to be able to see his eyes, like warm caramel or copper pennies. you don't even need to replace a sentence like the sky is perfect - you can just remove it entirely.

secondly, when i'm stuck in a rut, like, "oh, i've described a sky like this a hundred times", or even, "i've read skies like this described a hundred times," i honestly just do some writing exercises. the result is that i'll either find a description i like, or i'll create new material to use at a later date - or i'll just get practice thinking about things in different ways.

so let's take this sky example from your excerpt: the sky was clear with not a single cloud obstructing that deep bright blue.

i might ask, "what tangible thing is this sky like, and what would i want to do in it." then i try to reframe it so i don't use a direct simile.

the sky was an ocean

the sky was so deep and clear you could dive into it and not surface for days.

i might ask, "what other senses can i use to experience this sky, beyond sight." (taste, smell, sound, touch)

the sky was empty and clean

you could breathe that sky in, and your lungs would only feel crisp and bright, and everything would smell like water lilies for the rest of the week.

i might try to describe the sky from the perspective of something else in the scene.

this seems like maybe a beach because you'd mention waves so I''m gonna say there are seagulls

the seagulls wheeled in the sky, getting lost without any clouds to serve as landmarks.

i might say, what is the emotional quality of the scene? when the character looks at it, what do they feel? what does it make them want? i think you want this scene to be calming but we're gonna try a bunch of different emotional lenses:

calming: they could have wrapped themselves up in that infinite blue, and called it home.

harsh (angry/in shock): he stared at the sky. he'd never realized how severe and sharp it was, without any clouds to soften the edges.

grief: she wanted to lose herself in the cloudless blue. drown herself in it.

as a sidenote, i'm thinking of Wyndham; or, the Intergalactic Prometheus ♡ in which the thunderstorm sky is described as bruise-colored and rotten at various points when pearl-reader is miserable/afraid, and as rippling watercolor when she's feeling more relaxed. even the same sky takes on different qualities depending on the mood of the person experiencing it.

i might just say "fuck this sky; i'm gonna write a new one." sometimes this is fun because you get to see how the environmental/atmospheric tone changes the feeling of the scene.

it was storming: the purple clouds formed a quilt overhead, stitched through with lightning. the waves responded in kind: shattering softly on the shore, reflecting ribbons of swift-moving light.

jk it was foggy: the world was so misted over that he couldn't tell where the water ended and the sky began. the world was simply endless and dove-gray.

i also might just be like "i'm just gonna write something really weird and figure this out later." you've got a really rich scene here - gently lapping waves and a clear blue sky? you could do something weirdly symmetrical with them. like, between the sea and the sky, everything was so deep and blue that you couldn't tell if the soft hush of the waves was coming from above your head or at your feet. just play around with reality tbh

honestly i try to shy away from "advice" because everyone's approach needs to be tailored to them, but i would honestly say starting with some writing exercises is a great way to just explore your own style and how you want to think about things. other things you can do is literally go outside (or wherever) and close your eyes and really try to focus on every single sensation you're experiencing, and then write about it. fill pages. what did it remind you off? when you felt the breeze and it caressed your skin gently, did it also move the little hairs on your arms? did you feel it in places you don't normally pay attention to, like on your shoulders or the back of your neck? what did it smell like? what did it taste like? if it didn't have a taste, what would it taste like, if it did? do this whenever you can, in as many experiences as you can. sunrise at a beach. sunset on a mountaintop. golden hour in the deep woods. in front of a bonfire. at a park on the swings at midnight with friends. alone in a hot tub under a 2am snowfall. if you can't physically go there, imagine it. sink yourself into the daydream so deep you don't want to leave, and then just write. and write. and write. every sentence you put down, add one more. make it weirder, stranger, zoomed out, zoomed in, from a different perspective, a different sense, a different metaphor.

okay that's all for now and i know it's a lot and i'm sorry, but i hope it helps give you a place to start? and i will try to get back to you on writing reactions and facial expressions when i can parse through all my thoughts on those!