Aro Quips

If you like what I do here, check out my website where I share advice and some of my favorite series! https://buzz.uni.edu/aroquips/

[aroquips]

Welcome back writers to another set of Random Word Prompts! This week's word forced me to think outside the box, as I have very little experience with music beyond listening to it. If you're in the same boat as me, this may be a chance to learn something new or really push your creative boundaries. If not, it's time to flex your musical talents/knowledge!

This week's word is... Composer!

Prompt #1:

Write about a story where something goes wrong at a concert or symphony. What goes wrong? Can the mistake or action be corrected?

Prompt #2:

Write from the perspective of someone trying to write music for a song. Why are they writing a song? Are they struggling? If so, what are they struggling with?

Prompt #3:

Write about a cursed/magic song. Why was this piece written? What are the effects of listening/reading the song?

The word "composer" didn't leave much wiggle room topic wise but I think all three of these prompts have different potentials. Let me know which one(s) you end up using or which one is your favorite. I hope you all have a wonderful week and wish you the best of luck with your works!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

I recently learned that May 2 is National Space Day! To celebrate, I wrote three space themed writing prompts. I hope you all enjoy and are inspired by at least one of these prompts!

Prompt #1:

Write about an astronaut being sent to space, only to unexpectedly make contact with an alien. What is the alien like? How does the astronaut react?

Prompt #2:

Write from the perspective of a black hole. What emotions do they experience? How thoughts do they have?

Prompt #3:

Your character suddenly wakes up on another planet. How did they arrive on that planet? Will they able to make it home?

[aroquips]

May is the beginning of mental health awareness month. This is a good time to start (or restart) habits that will improve your mental health. It's not easy work but actively working towards better mental health is essential for living a higher quality life. Especially in difficult times, doing what you can do can make all the difference.

During this month, take a moment to...

Check in with yourself

Actually sit down with yourself, with no distractions, and evaluate how you feel. How are you doing emotionally? Mentally? Physically? Checking in with yourself is essential to creating a baseline. Rather than constantly moving from task to task or distraction to distraction.

Check in with your loved ones

Call your friends. Call your family. Sit down with a loved one and genuinely ask how they are doing. Listen to them genuinely, not just to wait for your turn, but because you care about how they're doing. And let your loved ones know that you care about them and are there to support them.

Practice...

Self care

Take a break and relax of course. But also do the more difficult things that improve your overall health. Exercise. Practice hygiene when you can. Don't spend all day in bed, on your phone. Instead get outside and take in the sunlight and fresh air that spring brings. Along with making sure you're getting a good night's sleep, taking breaks when needed, and doing the things you love!

Breathing exercises

Taking a moment to breathe is a great way to center yourself. And to ground yourself during difficult times. There are many different breathing exercises you can find and practice. When I feel myself spiraling or panicking, my go-to is the box method! Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, hold for 4 again, then repeat until calm.

Gratitude

This month is a great month to start a gratitude journal. Everyday, write down one thing that you're grateful for! They can be something big, like your family/friends, or something small, like your favorite show or book. You can also take this time to let your loved ones know that you're grateful for them.

Find...

Goals/Purpose

While taking a break and taking the time to rest is incredibly important to do, this month is also the time to clarify your next steps. And to start taking those steps. Think about your goals and how you're going to achieve them.

Information on mental health

Seeing as it's mental health awareness month, this is also an opportunity to educate yourself. One way to destigmatize mental illness is to seek out actual, truthful information, and share it with others. It can also help you be more informed about the struggles people are going through and help you help them.

Support

There are different support groups that can help you connect with others going through similar experiences to you. It's also an opportunity to reach out to your support group in your personal life.

[aroquips]

Hello writers, today marks the midpoint between spring and summer. It's a time of growth and transformation. And the perfect time to keep back into writing if you've stuck in a slump! To celebrate, I've made some may day themed prompts, thinking about the different ways to celebrate this holiday.

I hope they plant a seed of inspiration that blooms into a wonderful story!

Prompt #1:

Write a story where the main character keeps finding gift baskets on their front door. Who is leaving these baskets behind? And what do they contain? Will they eventually find whoever is leaving the gift baskets?

Prompt #2:

Your main character is an avid gardener. Unfortunately, they haven’t had the time to keep up with their garden. One day, they wake up only to find that their garden is completely in bloom. What caused this? How do they react?

Prompt #3:

Every night, a mysterious figure appears outside your main characters house. Dancing underneath the moonlight. Your main character is the only person who sees them and whenever they try to approach, the dancer disappears. Why is this happening and how?

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hey writers, if you like the content I post here, I recommend you check out my website Aro Quips! As you all probably know, I'm really passionate about writing and queer fiction. Representation in media is something I really care about and strive to do well in my own writing.

On my website, I wrote an article all about the "bury your gays" trope. How it possibly came to be, examples throughout history, and I plan on writing another article about its effects as well. If that's something that interests you, I recommend you click the link and check it out for yourself. I'd love to hear any feedback, hear out your examples, and anything else you'd want me to write about.

I also have other articles all about queer representation on my website. Including pieces about aspec characters, trans and gender ambigious characters, my favorite queer series, and even a novel writing guide!

It would mean a lot to me if any of you checked these articles out! Either way, I hope you all have a wonderful day and wish you all the best with your own writing.

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Welcome back writers to another Wacky Writing Tip Wednesday! We've finally hit double digits with this series, getting to the big ten! Thank you all for your support and reblogs, I'm so glad that many of you seem to love this silly little tips! I won't keep you all in anticipation for much longer. This week's tip is all about your characters and how they act/behave.

Keeping a character consistent and true to not only themselves but the story they're in is one of the most challenging parts of being a writer. Sometimes its easier to know what they wouldn't do versus what they would do. Hence why this week's tip is to...

Write your character doing something out of character!

Write them totally not being themselves. Write them doing something they wouldn't ever do or even just acting a little strangely. I find that this really helps me flesh out my characters. When I know what they wouldn't do/wouldn't act like, its easier to figure out exactly what they would do! It's also a fun exercise because it brings up questions like: What would make this character act out of character? Meaning I get to come up with a scenario that pushes the boundaries of that character!

Let me know if this is something you would consider doing or if you did this and it helped. Thank you all for tuning back in for another Wacky Writing Tip Wednesday. I hope you all find success and satisfaction with your writing and that you're all having fun!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hey Writers! I missed out on this year's lesbian visibility week unfortunately, but I decided late was better than never! So for a late celebration I came up with a few sapphic themed writing prompts. Drawing inspiration from sapphic symbols and elements like lavender and Sappho herself.

I hope you all enjoy these writing prompts and happy late lesbian visibility week!

Prompt #1:

Write a story where your main character is receiving beautiful poetry from a secret admirer. How does she respond? Who is this secret admirer? Will her secret admirer confess? Will they fall in love? Or will it end in tragedy?

Prompt #2:

Write a story in which a phantom thief’s only calling card is a bundle of lavender. One day, the lead detective on the case finds a bundle of lavender outside her front door.

Prompt #3:

Write a story about a main character’s “gay awakening.” How does she realize she’s attracted to women? How does she react to this realization?

Let me know which one of these is your favorite or if they sparked inspiration for you!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Check out my website: Aro Quips!

Hello writers, I just wanted to take a moment to do some (almost shameless) self promotion. If you like the content I post on my Tumblr blog, I really recommend you check out my website (buzz.uni.edu/aroquips/).

On my website, I post all about queer representation and writing. How to write good queer characters, media that presents realistic and fun queer characters, what to avoid, and even general writing tips! It's more detailed, long form content that's really similar to what I post on here. You can also learn more about me and my experiences!

If any of those would interest you, check it out! If you find something you like or interests you, don't be afraid to comment/shoot me an ask on here. Queer representation and writing is one of my passions and I'd love to find more people to discuss it with.

I hope you all are having a great day and wish you all the best with your writing.

[aroquips]

Hello, hello! Welcome/Welcome back for another week's set of Random Word Prompts. This week's word can be associated with so many different things, creating three very different writing prompts. I'm sure at least one will catch your attention!

This week's word is... Scale!

Prompt #1:

Write a story where a snake is the focal point/an important factor. Whether the snake acts as an allegory or metaphor, acts as the conflict, or even the main character, a snake must be included and be essential to the plot.

Prompt #2:

Write from the perspective of an extremely manipulative and conniving character. Why do they manipulate others? What are they trying to do with these skills?

Prompt #3:

Write a story about a grave injustice. Such as a main character being wrongfully accused of a crime, something unfair happening to another character, or discrimination being witnessed/experienced. Will this wrong be corrected? How or why not?

The word "scale" can be taken in so many different directions. It can bring to mind animals with scales; snakes/reptiles and fish. Which can lead to a person acting as a "snake," bringing concepts like how we associate certain traits with certain animals. Such as the tricky fox or the meek mouse. Then scale can also refer to a weighing scale, something heavily associated with justice or injustice.

I had a lot of fun letting my mind run amok coming up with these prompts. I hope you can do the same if you use these in your own writing! I'd love to see anything y'all come up with or if you found these to be helpful. Either way, I wish you all the best with your own writing!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hello everybody, welcome back to the 9th installment of Wacky Writing Tip Wednesday! This week's tip isn't necessarily a writing tip, as it may not involve any writing at all. But I urge you all to stick with me and hear me out. Sometimes, writing when you don't have the energy to only burns you out further.

While pushing through it can increase your word count, it may actually lower the quality or overall creativity put into the piece. There is no shame in taking a small break every once and awhile. But what do we do when we desperately want to be productive but there's no fuel left in the tank? That's when we...

Indulge in other creative pursuits!

One's that you can bring back to your writing if possible. For example, you can make a playlist that relates to your story. Full of songs that reflect your character's motives and/or personality! Or take the time to draw or paint your characters. A personal favorite of mine is making book covers for my novels. I can still feel productive and keep my piece on my mind. Take a break and indulge in something else creative!

If you found this to be helpful or have any other related ideas, let me know. Either way, remember to be kind to yourself and write what you enjoy.

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hello writers! I'm back again with this week's set of writing prompts. This week's word was a bit vague and it took me some time to come up with some prompts I felt like were both interesting and still stuck with the word. Without delaying any further,

This week's word is... Relate!

Prompt #1:

Write about a character desperately trying to convince another character. What are they trying to convince them? What are the consequences if they can’t/won’t?

Prompt #2:

Think of/randomly generate two different topics. Find a way to connect the two using a story. (For example, “Tomato” and “Classroom”).

Prompt #3:

Write from the perspective of someone meeting their “soulmate,” someone who seemingly gets them on every level. How do they meet? Are they really that similar or is there another reason why these characters get along so well?

Like I said, relate was a difficult word to work with. But I really liked the challenged and think these prompts will definitely spark some inspiration in my own writing. Let me know what you thought of these prompts or anything they ended up creating!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hello again writers! I'm back again this Wednesday with another Wacky Writing Tip. This week's tip is all about the overwhelming presence of a brand new notebook. Or a blank page. Sometimes, looking down at that fresh page/book can be so overwhelming! The opportunities, the possibilities, it all seems like the perfect time to make a mistake. Nothing seems like just the right thing to put on that blank page. While we all know that such an idea is silly, it can still be a factor that deters us from beginning to write at all. To get around that, this week's tip is...

Write on a piece of scrap paper instead!

Sometimes, an idea or concept can fit on a piece of scrap paper instead. Get out all the imperfect, unfinished ideas, before writing a more clear/concise idea in your notebook. I do this all the time, especially during my planning process. And I usually end up keeping these scrapes of paper. Slipping them between the pages where the information is most relevant. While not the most neat way of keeping notes, it makes me feel like an artist and reflects the crazy process that is writing! It also helps takes the pressure off during those initial steps. A time where the pressure it already cranked up the maximum. I recommend anyone struggling with this issue or similar issues give it a shot. Either way, let me know how you cope with blank notebooks and pages!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hello writers! Whether you're looking for something to jumpstart a new story, struggling with an acute case of writer's block, or simply looking to add to your prompt hoard, I've got three brand new prompts. Let's start the week off right with some more random word prompts!

This weeks word is... Gleaming!

Prompt #1:

Write about a character tracking down/finding a hidden treasure. What will they do with it? How did they end up finding it?

Prompt #2:

Write from the perspective of a distant star. What does it think about from its place in the sky? Does it enjoy being a star?

Prompt #3:

Write about a character getting distracted by something gleaming/shining and then getting into a chain of events because they were distracted. Will they track down the source of the light? Or will the source of the light come to them?

Gleaming was a strange word to work with, it's not one I find using very often. I usually stick to synonyms like "shining." But there were a lot of connotations and different scenarios that came to mind with this word. I hope at least one of these bring you the same inspiration coming up with these prompts gave me. Let me know if you use one of these prompts or share what you end up writing!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Hello again everybody and welcome back to another Wacky Writing Tip Wednesday! This weeks tip is all about perspective, as in character perspective. Sometimes it's beneficial to approach a scene from the lens of another character. Even if its not something you'll include in your final draft. This week's tip is...

Write from the villain's perspective.

Step away from the world and worries of your hero/protagonist. Instead, cross to the other side of the battlefield. What is your villain doing in this moment? What are thinking about? Are they coming up with a nefarious plan to defeat the main character? Sulking due to a recent defeat? Reveling in a victory? Maybe they're thinking about their past and everything they've gone through to get to this moment?

Sometimes as writers we get obsessed with our main character's perspective. Which makes sense, they are the character we typically sympathize with and root for. But we forget about all the other character that exist in this world, even our antagonist(s)! If you're struggling to come up with what the next major event should be or with conflict, jump over to the other side! Peek in on what they're doing!

And doing this can be extremely fun! Let's not lie, sometimes we all want to be the "bad guy." Playing evil can be cathartic and sometimes more interesting than constantly being the "good guy." Doing this can shake you out of that writer's block funk! Let me know if you try this and it ends up helping you!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Howdy everybody! And welcome back to Random Word Prompt Sunday! This is the third installment of this series so I'll go over the concept one last time. Basically, every Sunday I pick a random word and make three prompts based off that word. Feel free to check out this weeks, next weeks, and the last two weeks!

The weeks word is... Hill!

Prompt #1:

Write about a character that completely and utterly refuses to change their mind. No matter what the other characters say or do.

Prompt #2:

A hill randomly appears where there wasn’t one before. Is there a reason why? What do the character(s) do with this turn of events?

Prompt #3:

Write about a character trying to complete a singular task/mission, only to be constantly derailed and forced to restart. Will they eventually achieve their task? Or are they destined to constantly start over and over?

That's it for this week's prompts! Hill was such an interesting word to work with, unassuming but chock full of implications/associations. I hope you guys have as much fun using these prompts as I did coming up with them!

Happy Writing!

[aroquips]

Happy International Asexuality Day! As an aroace myself, I wanted to take the time to spread the word and encourage everyone to educate themself. A lot of strife and pain can be spared when everyone takes the time to ask questions with an open mind. Rather than closing off our minds and judging others.

To do my part, this post will be a quick, non nuanced, to the point explanation of what asexuality is. And what asexuality isn't.

Asexuality is...

The lack of/limited sexual attraction

Many asexuals don't experience sexual attraction to any gender under any circumstance. However, there are asexuals who may rarely experience sexual attraction or experience it under specific circumstances. Which leads to the next point.

A spectrum/umbrella term

What this means is that asexuality isn't a strict box. Instead, every asexual experiences asexuality differently. There are asexuals who experience zero sexual attraction and would never associate with sex. They may even express disgust at the idea.

On the other hand, there are asexuals who are interested in or enjoy sex, despite the lack of sexual attraction. They may be alloromantic (those who experience romantic attraction) and enjoy the intimacy sex allows with their partner. Maybe they just like how sex feels!

Asexuality also includes sexualities like demisexuals and greysexuals. Which are people who only experience sexual attraction after forming a close, emotional bond with someone. And those who experience sexual attraction fleetingly or infrequently.

At the end of the day, most of these details aren't your business. If a friend comes out to you as asexual, thank them for trusting you! Tell them you support them, even if you can't relate/fully understand. Then, tell them that they only have to share what they're comfortable with. Instead of asking after libido or digging into their personal life.

If your partner comes out to you as asexual, you can still approach this in a respectful way. Even if it may include a more intimate/personal conversation. Approach with an open mind and heart, rather than jumping to conclusions or rejecting them outright. Kindness is key!

Normal and Healthy

While it may not be the most common experience, it doesn't change the fact that asexuality is both normal and healthy. There are many people who identify as asexual. There have been many asexuals in the past. And there will, of course, be asexuals in the future. Asexual people are just that—people! With emotions and opinions! Not robotic, unfeeling, stone walls!

Asexuality isn't...

A Mental Illness

While a lowered sex drive may be a symptom of mental illness or a side effect of medication, this doesn't mean asexuality itself is a mental illness. As the previous point stated, asexuality is healthy and normal! This isn't something that be "cured" or "treated" with medication. And any attempt to do so is abusive and cruel.

A Phase/Trend

Like other sexualities, trying to demote it to "just a phase," is offensive and hurtful. Even if someone experiments with the label and later decides it wasn't the correct term for them, it doesn't mean that's the truth for everyone. Instead, respect everyone's journey. Exploring your sexuality is not an easy task and requires time, support, and patience. Asexuality isn't a "trend" either. It's not a bunch of people trying to stick out or feel special. Asexuals are just people trying to live their authentic life.

Sad/A "Tragedy"

Someone not experiencing sexual attraction isn't sad, it isn't something that should be grieved/mourned. It simply their sexuality. They are not "missing out" on anything. While you may take great joy out of your sex life and see your sexuality as an important facet of yourself, don't enforce those ideals on someone else. That's like being upset that someone was born blonde because you love your brown hair! Don't make assumptions.

I love being asexual, I couldn't imagine not being asexual. While yes, I've had many bad experiences coming out. I've never blamed myself, my sexuality, or wished to be "cured." I think its incredibly interesting the way human sexuality manifests. How it can be so varied and different from individual to individual. I think it only adds beauty to humanity. The way all of our differences add to the overall human experience.

Take the time to let the asexuals in your life know that you care and support them. Or spend some time researching about asexuality, its interesting and enlightening! In the end, I hope everyone has a wonderful International Asexuality Day!

[aroquips]

I'm back again with another Wacky Writing Tip! This week's tip is actually one I mention in my novel writing guide on my website. But I find it also helps with writing specific scenes/short stories, not just general plot creation! Now, before I can start rambling about that subject, today's tip is...

Start in the middle!

Basically, instead of starting at the beginning, allow yourself the freedom to start at the climax! Start with the exciting, emotional, heart-pounding stuff and then work your way back/forwards. Ask yourself questions like:

What exactly would have to happen for this occur?

What did my character do/have done to them to end up in this situation?

How would my character respond after the fact?

How do I get to the ending from this point?

I find that starting from somewhere besides the beginning gives me more creative freedom when struggling. Admittedly, this isn't a tip I use very often, as I'm incredibly fond of routines and working my way linearly through a story. But when I'm absolutely stuck, sometimes even the reminder that I can do whatever I want, and write whatever I want, helps jumpstart the process. Give a try yourself, see if it helps break that writer's block! Or if this is a tip you already use yourself, let us know why/if it's helpful to you!

Happy Writing Yall!