wixtorian

[wixtorian]

Write it shitty, write it scared, write it without a clue but don't you be so spineless and have an AI write fanfic for you.

[wixtorian]

today i wrote zero words! but i did think about my story twice in passing. that probably counts for something

[wixtorian]

I’m writing scenes which are good, and I don’t know where they are going to fit in the book. But it’s what I call ‘The Valley Filled With Clouds’ technique. You’re at the edge of the valley, and there is a church steeple, and there is a tree, and there is a rocky outcrop, but the rest of it is mist. But you know that because they exist, there must be ways of getting from one to the other that you cannot see. And so you start the journey. And when I write, I write a draft entirely for myself, just to walk the valley and find out what the book is going to be all about.

-- Terry Pratchett - A Slip Of The Keyboard: Collected Non-fiction

[wixtorian]

Hey, don't cry. Five thousand fanfic daydream scenarios inside your head about the super-obscure fictional character you've latched onto like an orphaned duckling, okay?

[wixtorian]

people who dont experience it cannot comprehend how awful executive dysfunction is. I WANT to do the task, i have the resources TO do the task, i will feel better having DONE the task

but i cant fucking do the task

[wixtorian]

Writing References: Tips & Advice

Some Tips & Advice for Writing Fiction

Active Reading ⚜ Hook ⚜ Outline ⚜ Summary ⚜ Wordiness

Allegory ⚜ Food ⚜ Horror ⚜ Humour ⚜ Memoir ⚜ Mystery

Beginning & Ending ⚜ Chapter Ending ⚜ Last Line ⚜ The End

Conscious Language ⚜ White Room Syndrome ⚜ Writing Style

Creative Writing ⚜ Journal Writing ⚜ Speculative Biology

Fight Scene Part 1 2 ⚜ Plot Twist ⚜ Subplot

Procrastination ⚜ Rejection ⚜ Vocabulary ⚜ Your Audience

Writer's Block: Part 1 2

Your Character: Hero ⚜ Likable ⚜ Morally Grey ⚜ Well-Rounded

Writers on Writing

Anaïs Nin ⚜ Andrew Motion ⚜ Annie Proulx

Elmore Leonard ⚜ Ernest Hemingway ⚜ Friedrich Nietzsche

George Orwell: Motives for Writing ⚜ On Poetry ⚜ On Nonsense Poetry

George Orwell: The Prevention of Literature ⚜ On Good "Bad Books"

George Orwell: Describes A Writer

H. P. Lovecraft ⚜ Henry Miller ⚜ Italo Calvino

Jack Kerouac: Are Writers Born or Made?

James Baldwin ⚜ John Rechy ⚜ John Steinbeck

Joyce Carol Oates ⚜ Ray Bradbury ⚜ Ronald Knox

Kurt Vonnegut: The Shapes of Stories

Margaret Atwood: On Plot

Rick Riordan: On Character ⚜ On Dialogue ⚜ On Plot

Rick Riordan: Some Common Problems in Unpublished Manuscripts

Stephen King ⚜ Ursula K. Le Guin ⚜ Vladimir Nabokov

Virginia Woolf: On Censorship ⚜ On Words

W. H. Auden ⚜ William Strunk Jr. & E. B. White

Zadie Smith: Dance Lessons for Writers

More: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ For the Poets ⚜ Prompts Notes & References ⚜ Templates ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Basics

Writing Resources PDFs

[wixtorian]

all the dialogue tags you'll ever need

agreed

allowed

assented

assured

babbled

begged

blurted

boomed

breathed

cajoled

chimed (in)

chortled

clarified

concluded

confirmed

consoled

cried

cursed

declared

demanded

disclaimed

exclaimed

gasped

glowered

groaned

grumbled

grunted

gushed

hissed

insisted

jabbed

lamented

laughed

moaned

mumbled

murmured

mutter

noted

offered

ordered

promised

proposed

protested

queried

questioned

quipped

rambled

rasped

realized

recalled

relented

replied

reprimanded

retorted

said

scolded

screeched

shrieked

sneered

sneered

spat

swore

threatened

wailed

warned

whined

[wixtorian]

if you're stuck on a chapter there are a few reasons:

-your set up to the scene you're writing is not working. go back and check it

-you are not in the right POV. think about who would be the most interesting or the most entertaining or the most informative in that scene, depending on what impact you want the scene to have

-you're at the beginning of the chapter and the words aren't coming to you even though you have it planned out already? the solution is simple: you don't like what you have planned out as much as you think you do. do not force it

-solution to a lot of problems comes from a single question I ask myself: Do I choose the kind option, or the mean option? (Your readers will eat up either one)

-You find the dialogue lacking? Act it out

-Your scene feels boring or something just "ain't right" but you can't tell what it is? Try making yourself feel the emotion you want your readers to feel. If you didn't cry while writing a scene meant to make your readers bawl their eyes out, then you might not have connected to your character as well as you wanted to. Put yourself in their shoes, pretend you ARE them.

(And afterwards, please practice putting yourself back in your own shoes and taking care of your mental health. Sometimes the fucked up stuff might get to you. Healthy minds create healthy lives, and in turn, you get to keep creating.)

-Your environment might be bothering you. Take a look around you and see what's nagging you. Is your workspace not clean? Are your notes out of order? A clean/orderly workspace can help you organize your thoughts or get you into a more productive mood. (Trust me, I get it, sometimes it's really hard to keep it tidy.)

-Try white/brown/pink noise. Try listening to music, or to videos that create background noise you feel most productive with.

-Jumping jacks. Squats. Stretches. Wiggle around your room. That one scene in High School Musical where Sharpay and Ryan are warming up. It sounds ridiculous, but this is good for you, your body, and your mind. Release pent up energy, get yourself awake and focused. If you aren't able to do this, try something silly to wake your brain up. Do some puzzles, sing some songs, etc.

-Most importantly:

Did you do your laundry? Did you get enough sun? Did you drink enough water? Did you eat enough today? Did you get your favorite snack? Did you smile? Did you run in your yard like you did as a kid? Did you laugh with your friend? Did you see the way their eyes crinkle when they smile at you? Did you play with your dog? Your cat? Did you look at the flowers in the field near your house? Did you meet someone new? Did you learn something you didn't before? Did you try something you were scared of? Did it go well? Did you enjoy being yourself? Did you explore the world today? Did you live? Did you love? Did you feel? Did you breathe, and relax, and feel that everything is gonna be okay?

It might seem insignificant, but we write from the heart, not just the mind. Let your story sit in the back of your mind when you truly feel stuck. Take care of yourself, try getting out of your head. Notice the details around you, commit them to memory. Your story will wait for you. It might take a day, or days, or a week, or a month, months, or a year or years. But the story sits with you and you'll be thinking about it without actually thinking about it. When you come to your story again, it will be happy that you've grown, no matter how big or small

[wixtorian]

(tweet 1) (tweet 2) (article)

[wixtorian]

someone on twitter is trying to claim that use of an em-dash is an indication of AI-generated writing because it’s “relatively rare” for actual humans to use it. skill issue

[wixtorian]

Fellow Travelers, ep. 8, "Make it Easy" // J.D. McClatchy, “The Dialogue of Desire and Guilt” // Fellow Travelers, ep. 8, "Beyond Measure" // Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers, ch. 39 // Fellow Travelers, ep. 1, "You're Wonderful // Bonnie Raitt, "I Can't Make You Love Me" // Fellow Travelers, ep. 8, "Beyond Measure" // Thomas Mallon, Fellow Travelers, Prologue // Fellow Travelers, ep. 8, "Beyond Measure" // Dara Yen Elerath, "Why I Could Not Leave My Abuser" // Fellow Travelers, ep. 8, "Beyond Measure" // Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, ch. 4

[wixtorian]

Having the hardest time with Chapter 3. There’s so much exposition I need to include but I don’t want it to feel unnatural. And I had to completely revamp my outline because I realized something made no sense compared to canon.

All this to say I’m still writing angel baby!! But it’s gonna take a lil longer than I wanted it to :(

[wixtorian]

Finished outlining Angel, Baby. Trying hard to give myself grace because this is the first long form story I’ve ever written.

Also struggling with the desire to make it perfect. Since it’s inspired by Turn, I have this notion that it needs to be as perfect as that fic is. But it won’t be, because I’m too new and that story is so singular nothing could measure up.

Also people are actually commenting on it, which is cool! But also scary!! Because I don’t want to disappoint them.

Anywhooooo just needed to vent so I can get back to having fun with my writing!

[wixtorian]

*struggles while writing* i suck and writing is hard

*remembers some ppl use ai* i am a creative force. i am uncorrupted by theft and indolence. i am on a journey to excellence. it is my duty to keep taking joy in creating.

[wixtorian]

in my documence. straight up “writing it”. and by “it”, haha, let’s justr say. Words certainly

[wixtorian]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Fellow Travelers (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Hawkins Fuller/Tim Laughlin Characters: Hawkins Fuller, Tim Laughlin, Rafael (Fellow Travelers TV), Lucy Smith (Fellow Travelers TV), Jackson Fuller (Fellow Travelers TV), Kimberly Fuller, Marcus Gaines, Frankie Hines, Leonard Smith (Fellow Travelers TV), Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant up to Episode 7, Hurt/Comfort, Angels, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Use Summary:

Tim leaves Hawk in Fire Island and he never gets ahold of Kimberly. He's on track to self-destruct until a friend does something extraordinary, changing the direction of Hawk's life forever.

-

“You’re a good man, Hawkins Fuller,” he begins. Hawk goes to protest but feels a rush of nausea the second he opens his mouth. The world goes fuzzy again but a snap from Rafael’s fingers brings him back to lucidity.

“You are. Or you can be.” He searches Hawk’s face and, apparently satisfied with whatever he finds there, says, “I’m going to share a glimpse with you – but there are rules. One: tell no one. Two: Send a prayer if you need me. And three: do better.”

“I have,” Hawk tries to say, words slurring out, “no fucking clue what you’re talking about.”

[wixtorian]

I lied, I'm posting Chapter 1 now.

I'm writing a Fellow Travelers fanfiction, inspired by saras_girl's Drarry fic, Turn. I started outlining yesterday and I've written around 9,500 words already. I've pretty much never written long form, but I'm so inspired right now. I wanna post Chapter 1 immediately but I'll wait until I have more than two chapters written to confirm to myself I won't just abandon it.