Allie Writes Books

Allie // 17 // She/Her // Just a writer who loves words and has an unhealthy obsession with coffee

[edgybabyface]

My friend: "I am horribly diseased....but that's just a side effect of being a rat."

[coffehousecreations]

Some aesthetic playlists for writing

For when you’re in an 80s teen montage

For when you’re in a jazz coffee shop in NYC

For when you’re on a quest to find the fae queen

For when you’re in a teen road-trip scene

For when you’re chilling on a spaceship hopping from planet to planet

For when you’re running along the roofs of renaissance Italy

For when you’re a farmhand taking his lunch break in the meadow 

For when you’re a high end classy ass art thief

For when you’re kicking butt with the beauty and sass of a k-pop star

For when you’re attending a coronation ball for the crown prince 

For when you’re going on an adventure

For when you and your best friends are trying to figure out life together

let me know if you want me to add more!!!

[hungwy]

not to be dramatic but the world is beautiful and too many things stop us from realizing that

[inspiration-and-motivation]

[writersblockbecomesunblocked]

25 Ways To Become A Better Writer

1. Takes notes of funny or interesting things you hear people say

2. Make lots of lists

3. Write down ideas, even if they don’t really fit into your story. They may be useful later

4. Stay organized

5. Watch an old movie for inspiration

6. Listen to music that fits the mood of your chapter while you write

7. If you remember your dreams, write them down

8. Learn a new word every day

9. Use a thesaurus

10. Take breaks

11. Don’t force yourself to write “2,000 words a day” or whatever. Some days will just be bad writing days. Others will be great

12. Don’t beat yourself up

13. If its a bad chapter, don’t delete it. Take a break, then come back to it and edit it

14. Look at pictures of landscapes or scenes online. It will help you vividly describe what your story looks like

15. Read other’s work for ideas

16. Get feedback from others

17. Bounce plot ideas back and forth with your friends or other writers

18. Write when you feel comfortable, and not rushed

19. If you really like something that others don’t, you should still consider keeping it in your story

20. Write down a few sentences explaining what your chapter is going to be about before you write it

21. Don’t force it

22. Drink something hot while writing

23. Let yourself daydream

24. Stop comparing your work to others

25. Seek another respective

[theliteraryarchitect]

Hi! So I recently discovered removing the word 'that' from 90% of my writing actually made it more fluid and hardly impacted the readability. Tiny achievement but very proud of myself as a novice writer ^.^ I was wondering if (other than the up/down one) there were any other tiny tricks for removing superfluous words? Thanks!

Great question! Honestly, there are hundreds, but here are a few to get you started.

Words You Can (Usually) Safely Cut from Your Writing

That

Then

Start

Begin

Suddenly

Down

Up

Kind of

Really

Just

Basically

In general, look out for adverbs (actually, really), “hedging” words (kind of, sometimes), and ambiguous words (nothing, everything, someone). Some can be cut; others will need to be revised or swapped out. “That” is a classic offender. “Then” can usually be changed to “and.” It’s only necessary to qualify that an action was “started” if the action gets interrupted, otherwise it can be cut. (”She started to cry” becomes “She cried”).

I have a detailed, exhaustive list of words like this (with explanations!) in my book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, which will be done soon :)

Nice to hear from you & hope this helps!

[heywriters]

Adding some more:

started/began (agh, just realized this was already covered, sorry!)

he began to walk toward the door

he walked toward the door

give

she gave a yelp of surprise

she yelped in surprise

feel

he felt an overwhelming feeling of euphoria*

he was overwhelmed by euphoria / his euphoria overwhelmed him

sound (of)

they could hear the sound of footsteps

they could hear footsteps

over (to)

I walked over to the bed

I walked to the bed

looked/appeared

it looked like they were out of milk

they were out of milk

DO NOT just delete these words en masse from your draft. Sometimes they really do need to be there. Beginning writers or writers who undervalue quality tend to overuse these words, and it makes the reading stuffy and hard to get through.

For example, “He started to walk toward the door” may be a necessary sentence if something happens before he gets to the door. If there is no reason to explain his process of walking toward the door, delete “started to” and just tell us he made it to the door. Alternately I’ve seen writers leave out that “started to” sentence when it was necessary, causing me to backtrack and reread.

The goal is to improve reading comprehension for the reader and sound like you’re great at this writing thing. Train your eye for useless stuffing words and you’ll eventually be able to pick apart your drafts without the help of lists like this.

*Toned down rewrite of an actual sentence I read with my own two eyes.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Great additions!

[surrealist-lyricist]

Bloom - The Paper Kites

[horsegirlhob]

Some of you have never gotten all your books confiscated by your third grade teacher because you were reading them under your desk in math class and it shows 

[humanityinahandbag]

I’M ABOUT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER, BOOK NERDS

Do you like books!?

OF COURSE YOU DO

Do you like reading books?

DUUUUUH!

Do you collect books and let them sit on your shelf!?

WHAT IS THIS!? AMATEUR hOUR? OF FUCKING COURSE! 

Do you spend WAAAAAAY too much money on books even though they’re totally worth it but holy fucking shit fifteen dollars is the median and why is the world so effortlessly cruel?

Who’s got two thumbs and an empty wallet! Yes yes and yes!

WELL HAVE I GOT A SOLUTION FOR YOU

Thriftbooks is an amazing online site that sells used books! These books are, for the most part, in great condition. I’ve used this website for everything from textbooks to fiction to everything else in between! It has a wide selection with an even wider selection of options per book!

You want softcover? They’ve got it! Hardcover? Of course! Audio? Why not!

Hell! They even sell the books in other languages!

You might say to me, humanity, why are you telling us this? We already have barnes and noble!

Because, my poor, naive friend, thriftbooks sells the majority of it’s books for under four dollars.

That’s right. You heard me. Under. Four. Dollars.

And right now, they’re having a huge deal!

2 books for $7

3 books for $10

4 books for $12

But wait! There’s more!

If you leave a book in your cart for long enough, chances are you’ll be alerted when a seller nearby, for a cheaper price, has the same book! You’ll get it cheaper and faster, with less waste of paper and time!

And prices change! That book that would have cost you $3.79 one day might be $3.45 the next, and man oh man isn’t that the best thing to see when you check up on your cart.

So what are you waiting for, book lovers! Go! Go shop!

Go and rule the world!

Be the book lovers I know you can be!

[humanityinahandbag]

DID I MENTION THAT THERE’S FREE SHIPPING OVER 10 DOLLARS

[humanityinahandbag]

DID I MENTION THAT THERE’S ALSO A COUPON CODE YOU CAN USE FOR A LIMITED TIME

type in the word “welcome” when you get to checkout and you’ll get 15% off!

[humanityinahandbag]

DID I ALSO MENTION THAT THERE ARE READING REWARDS

AND THAT EVER $50 YOU SPEND THEY GIVE YOU $5 BACK.

guys

five dollars

on this site

is a book

that is the cost of an entire book

you’re literally getting a free book

[humanityinahandbag]

I NEED Y’ALL TO SEE THIS SIDE BY SIDE THOUGH

So to prove my very real point, I went to Barnes and Noble and picked out some of my favorites books that I already have on my shelves

(also, fyi, y’all should read these they’re bangin)

AND BECAUSE THE SHIPPING IS SO INSANE, IT WAS MEAN TO COME OUT TO $47.85 (and that’s at an online price, which discounts by a few dollars)

But with shipping, handling, and the extreme cost of books, my total came to this:

$72.30

Okay. Then I went onto thriftbooks and chose the same books in the same formats (hardcover, softcover, etc.)

Keep in mind that not all books are under $4 due to size, availability, how new they are to the world yada yadayada

But this was the final shopping cart.

Look.

Look at those lovely books.

My final check out price?

$21.86

AND THAT DOESN’T INCLUDE ANY OF THE AMAZING DISCOUNTS, DEALS, AND/OR PROMO CODES.

If you do the math, I saved $50.44.

And even if Barnes and Noble had given me that free shipping, I still would have saved $25.99. Do you know what that could buy you? That could buy you four more books on thriftbooks!

Thriftbooks fucking saved my broke college ass. And I’d encourage you all to use it if you can. Shipping may take 4-14 days, but I swear to god it’s worth every dollar that I would have burned. 

THIS IS IN NO WAY AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO STOP SHOPPING AT BOOKSTORES. PLEASE DON’T. LOCAL BOOKSTORES ARE IMPORTANT AND VITAL AND SHOULD BE SUPPORTED!

I’m mostly making jabs at the big name companies, and honestly, my broke bookworm ass needs a break.

[humanityinahandbag]

NOW YOU MAY ASK ME

HOW

HOW CAN IT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!?

It can’t. There’s no way!

WELL YES IT FUCKING CAN, BOOK NERDS!

Did you ever think to yourself; I love to read. But I sure wish there was a way to read my own books while I multi-task by helping the environment, the economy, and the seemingly never-ending and growing gap between low-income schools and libraries and their availability to reading material all at the same time…

Well, there is.

It’s called shopping at Thriftbooks

And what’s more:

Boom.

Right there.

This place is fucking amazing as hell and you should use it as often as you possibly can.

Save the environment. Keep your mind running. Shop Thriftbooks.

[leehelps]

Making graphics, aesthetics, etc. is fun, but you know what isn’t fun? Using stolen and uncredited pictures. I know, I know, properly crediting people is such a hassle… so what if I told you that there were great sites with completely free pictures that require no attribution whatsoever out there? Under the cut is a list I have compiled with #28 sites that contain photos with no copyright restrictions or watermarks, sorted by quality and each with a short description. Please like and/or reblog if you found this useful!

Keep reading

[grrover]

no one talks about how rick riordan literally scammed disney 

[grrover]

dead ass pjo was that seemingly “normal” kids fantasy series with a seemingly white straight kid saving the world and it’s a fucking success. percy jackson? iconic! ppl fucking love percy and his character and then hoo comes out? everyone is pumped bc everyone is in love with that world. the first book? two main bad ass poc characters. the second book? two more bad ass poc characters! the fourth book and there’s literally a gay character and it’s not like disney could say no. hoo ends and then there’s magnus chase and ppl are fucking pumped bc that’s annabeth chase’s cousin and in the first book there’s a muslim girl and by the second book there’s a transgender and genderfluid character. trials of apollo? a main gay couple in a happy relationship and a fucking bi character. could disney say no? no. literal 10 year olds are reading books with heaps of representation all published by disney. rick riordan played the game. you step in thinking ur just gonna get white cishets and you walk out surrounded by different cultures and rainbows.

tldr; rick started out with the basic pasty white and straight series which got hella successful and used his success to pusblish more books and allow only one (1) cishet and only one (1) white

[grrover]

i doubt he planned it but deadass it would be so funny if that’s what happened

[kaylapocalypse-deactivated20201]

I saw him speak on /writing in the UK right before (or early in on when) his series hit it big. Planned. Definitely planned. 

[runwithskizzers]

Thousand percent planned. Also Percy? Has a learning disability. RR’s son inspired him to write bc he is ADHD and dyslexic. This was all planned. He is all about inclusivity and representation.

[hurricane-eggbeater]

He just recently turned down an invitation to be recognized by the Texas state legislature because of of their new bathroom bill.

[thewellofastarael]

He also makes his books incredibly funny, which is rather rare for YA and makes them more accessible to kids who don’t really like to read. In addition to having loads of POV character who have trouble reading themselves.

For those who’ve been living under a YA rock, this is Rick Riordan:

(this was the gay character in the second series)

(and the trans character in a later series)

[meeshay]

Let’s not forget that he has an interest in the mythologies of other countries, but instead of writing them himself promotes other writers through his “Rick Riordan Presents” publishing imprint to do so!

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/kids/aru-shah-end-time-kicks-off-terrific-new-series-inspired-rick-riordan/

[gabsyferreira-deactivated202504]

Riordan is what JK Rowling wanted to be

[dictionarywrites]

rowling lacks the spine, heart, and soul to be capable of wanting to be like riordan

[basilesroom]

There’s a reason I can devour his books in like two days

[hardbackbooksplease-deactivated]

How the hell do people choose what they’re going to read for the whole bloody month? The practise astounds me because right now my process is:

I finish a book, I stare at my bookcase for 30 mins, I get annoyed, I go “Fuck it. That one.”

And the cycle begins again.

[alliewritesbooks]

Music Recommendation #21

My family is moving, so I’m going to be without internet for a week or so and its been really hectic getting ready for that. I premade the lists that will need to go up while I’ll be without internet, but for the sake of saving time I’m not putting links on either of those two lists. Once my life gets back into a decent routine, everything will go back to normal. 

As always, happy listening and I hope you enjoy this weeks list!

Natural- Imagine Dragons

First Time- Plested

Feel Again (acoustic)- Flight Deck 

One in the Same- Jordan Mackampa

Wasted Time- Cloves

Keep Your Head Up- Ben Howard

(sittin’ on) The Dock of a Bay- Otis Redding

At My Weakest- James Arthur

you should see me in a crown- Billie Eilish

Tread Lightly- Forest Blakk

Violin- Amos Lee

Into the Mystic- Van Morrison

Perfect Mess- Josh Jenkins

Blank You Out- Seafret

Pay it no mind- Matthew and the Atlas

Hair too Long- The Vamps

You Worry Me- Nathaniel Ratcliff & The Night Sweats

What We’re Told- The Nutterjacks

Passenger- Noah Kahan

God is a Woman- Dodie, Julia Nunes, and Orla Gartland (cover) 

[apagewithaview]

The female authors aren’t hiding...

Why is this still a thing? I just saw yet another article trying to recommend a few female authors as though they’re some rare species. The suggestions turned out to be just as boring as every other list: Rowling, Austen, Rowling, Bronte, Rowling.

I don’t know why people keep struggling to come up with 5 amazing female authors (or even making these lists. Like whyyy). So let me now walk over to my bookshelf and rattle off some names of my favorite modern female authors… (also, enjoy my attempt to break my endless “YA fantasy” books into groups). 

If you’re searching for that super elusive book written by a woman, try:

Dystopian

Veronica Roth

Lauren Oliver

Kristin Cashore

Veronica Rossi

Beth Revis

Marie Lu

Tahereh Mafi

Suzanne Collins

Susan Ee

Suzanne Young

Jennifer Wilson

Amy Engel

Fantasy

Samantha Shannon

Evelyn Skye

A.C. Gaughen

Jessica Khoury

Alwyn Hamilton

Marissa Meyer

Heidi Heilig

Libba Bray

Leslye Walton

Janet Lee Carey

Jennifer McGowan

Diana Peterfreund

JK Rowling

Janet B. Taylor

Laini Taylor

Robin LaFevers

Erin Morgenstern

Kendare Blake

Amie Kaufman

Kerstin Gier

Kiersten White

Melanie Dickerson

Melissa Landers

KM Shea

Alison Goodman

Elizabeth May

Kiera Cass

Renee Ahdieh

Marion Zimmer Bradley

Alexandra Bracken

Romina Russell

Deborah Harkness

Diana Gabaldon

Madeline Miller

Julie Eshbaugh

High Fantasy

Sarah J Maas

Maria V. Snyder

Mary E. Pearson

Sara B. Larson

Jennifer A. Nielsen

Shannon Hale

Stephanie Garber

Diana Wynne Jones

Stacey Jay

Erin Summerill

Leigh Barudgo

Hannah West

Sabaa Tahir

Victoria Aveyard

Rosamund Hodge

Melina Marchetta

Rae Carson

Naomi Novik

Susan Dennard

Wendy Higgins

V.E. Schwab

Gail Carson Levine

CJ Redwine

Katherine Roberts

Sara Raasch

Erika Johansen

Rachel Hartman

Juliet Marillier

Livia Blackburne

Sophie Jordan

Tamora Pierce

Sandra Waugh

Marie Rutkoski

Elise Kova

Angie Sage

Amy Tintera

Sarah Fine

Jodi Meadows

Cinda Williams Chima

Morgan Rhodes

Sherry Thomas

Danielle L. Jensen

Colleen Oakes

Melissa Grey

Sarah Ahiers

Lori M. Lee

Roshani Chokshi

Modern Fantasy

Cassandra Clare

Rachel Hawkins

Stephanie Meyer

Jennifer L. Armentrout

Kami Garcia

Claudia Gray

Julie Kagawa

Maggie Stiefvater

Kaitlin Bevis

Aimee Carter

Holly Black

Cynthia Hand

Richelle Mead

Temple West

Alex Flinn

Kresley Cole

Josephine Angelini

Lisa Maxwell

Zoraida Cordova

Contemporary

Rainbow Rowell

Jenny Han

Morgan Matson

Sarah Dessen

Kasie West

Jennifer Longo

Anna Breslaw

Sonya Mukherjee

Huntley Fitzpatrick

Melissa Keil

Brodi Ashton

Jennifer Niven

Katherine Catmull

Miranda Kenneally

Eileen Cook

Sandy Hall

Jenn Marie Thorne

Sarah Strohmeyer

Stephanie Perkins

Danika Stone

Elizabeth Eulberg

Jandy Nelson

Carolyn Mackler

Ali Novak

Ann Brashares

Tamara Ireland Stone

Gwenda Bond

Stacey Lee

Nina LaCour

(Sorry to Leigh Bird Dog and anyone else whose name autocorrect couldn’t deal with if I didn’t catch it).

These are just the books I happened to glance at, so feel free to add! And then maybe this can stop being a thing…

[spiegelgold-reads]

I may ad:

Jennifer Fallon, Kerstin Gier, Antonia Fraser, Jenny-Mai Nuyen, Renee Ahdieh, Meg Cabot, Louisa May Alcott, Cornelia Funke, Kathryn Stockett, Zoe Sugg, Jennifer Benkau, Madeline Miller, Katharina Seck, Marah Woolf, Libba Bray, ….

[alliewritesbooks]

Music Recommendation #20

It’s one of those days where I can’t think a good thought if I tried, so no long intro today. There are some really great songs and videos on this list, along with the links to all the songs, so check them out if you want. 

As always, hope you enjoy this weeks list and Happy Listening!

Mykonos- Fleet Foxes *This is a new favorite song of mine, and I’m linking the music video because its so cool and weirdly relaxing to watch. Highly recommend checking it out*

Hang On, Hang On- Amos Lee

Maps- Handsome Ghost

Chemicals- Gregory Alan Isakov

Portland, Maine- Donovan Woods 

Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes

All On My Mind- Anderson East

Scotland- The Lumineers 

Visionis of China- The Lumineers

Wolves Without Teeth- Of Monsters and Men

Sometimes I Wonder- Zach Winters

Holdin’ Out- The Lumineers

You- The Pretty Reckless

The Beacon- A Fine Frenzy

The Ice is Getting Thinner- Death Cab For Cutie

Rainbow- Dodie

Heart to Love- Passenger

The Architects Hand- AHI

Hallucinogenics (stripped)- Matt Maeson

Lonely Together- Jasmine Thompson (cover) 

[theliteraryarchitect]

Reblog if you still write longhand

at any point in your writing process. That includes freewriting, first drafts, notes, outlines… anything. Just wondering how many people out there are still putting pen to paper. :)

[alliewritesbooks]

Music Recommendation #19

I can’t believe I’ve made 19 of these things. Thats crazy to me. I know I always say this, but I really, really enjoy making these. Finding new music each week in between my writing sessions to share with you all is always fun for me. In a way, it helps with my writing process. When I get to that point in my writing where I’m exhausted and I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, stopping to listen to some music and write it down for my lists helps to get me back into my writing. To those of you who consistently like and enjoy these, thank you so much. It means the world to me. 

As always, I hope you enjoy this weeks list and happy listening!

Wild World- Trent Dabbs

Say Amen (Saturday Night)- Panic! At The Disco

Best Days- Lissie

Put Your Records On- Corinne Bailey Rae

Imitosis- Andrew Bird

Conqueror- AURORA

Fountain of Youth- Local Natives

Way With Words- Bahamas

You Would Have To Lose Your Mind- The Bar Brothers

Motel- Caitlin Canty

Parachute- Jaymes Young

Back To The Bottom- Port Cities

Grow Back- The Happy Fits

I Follow Rivers- Lykke Li

Into the Wild- Lewis Watson

Right Through- The Happy Fits

Hazy- Rosi Golan (ft. William Fitzsimmons)

Lies and Cigarettes- Ron Pope

Hands on You- Ashley Monroe