I just want to say first, as a disclaimer, that I don't regard myself as the authority on 'good' writing, I've just gotten quite a few people asking for help and people expressing curiosity for my creative process.
Please don't consider this as a checklist and feel like you're doing things wrong, this is just a way for you to get a sense of where to begin and conceptualise where you'd like to be. We're all on different paths and those paths are not more or less valid than others.
This guide will include examples from my own works and hypothetical ones, using only written fics (smaus have their own guide, please find it in my navigation). This also doesn't tackle how to write fanfiction specifically, just general fictional writing.
These are formatted based on the questions I received in my messages and inbox.
Content:
༯ How to show and not tell
༯ How to write dialogue
༯ How to increase word count and why you might want to
༯ Other advice
༯ Paragraph structuring
༯ Punctuations
༯ How to fix up typos
༯ How to get better generally
༯ Final disclaimers
How to show and not tell!
༯ Beginner writers, and indeed, established ones too, often forget the very important rule of showing and not telling. This rule, of course, refers to the idea of building up descriptions or hinting to a certain thought so that the readers may reach that conclusions themselves.
༯ It's important you trust your readers to be able to follow along on their own. Sometimes if you tell them what to think it can cause a disconnect between your writing and them.
༯ This is also a good way of varying your sentences and not coming off as repetitive.
Emotions
༯ Let's go through some examples via the art of expressing emotions.
Example: Pathetic piner!Gojo
Pathetic piner!Gojo asks, voice rough and distorted, “Did you sleep with him? Do you love him?”
༯ Here, we can see that there is no definitive emotion asserted. I didn't write 'Gojo asks, upset' or 'Angry, Gojo asks'
༯ Instead, I am describing his voice. Using the adjectives 'rough' and distorted' allows the readers to figure out for themselves how he's feeling without being too simplistic.
༯ Often, expressing emotion in this way is better than simply saying he's sad or confused because those words can't capture the complexity of his feelings.
༯ Now, let it be known that it can be just as good to be direct about a character's feelings. It is simply all about intention. What are you trying to convey here?
༯ Another important thing to note is that if your work is written in a certain narrative voice, i.e. first person, you should limit information to what that character could only know realistically.
༯ In the context of the above example, it is 'y/n' who is perceiving Gojo, thus it would only make sense that they'd have a limited understanding of how exactly Gojo is feeling. So, instead of them catching on immediately that he's upset, they instead can only note down these things that are out of the ordinary.
༯ Use body language to describe their emotional state.
More examples:
The corner of his mouth curved up = smiling, finding humour in something
His brows furrowed = confusion, concentration, tension
Her lips pursed = dissatisfaction, barely restrained anger
Hand flexed, jaw ticked, teeth bared = anger, thoughts of violence
Sniffled, bottom lip trembled = about to cry, sad, trying not to be
How to write dialogue!
༯ Vary your sentence structures
Example: Homecoming
“Sorry, Si.” He swings his arm around the back of your thighs, encouraging you to straddle him. “You just look so good.”
He hums, letting you get settled in his lap whilst he rubs his thumb over the skin of your hip almost as if he can’t help himself. “Can look as much as y’ want, lovie. ‘m all y’rs.”
༯ You can have speech at the beginning and at the end of a paragraph. Not in the middle though — it's messy and confusing if written in the middle because the dialogue gets lost in the paragraph (but note that you can do as you please. It's just one of those 'rules' that aren't really 'rules')
༯ You also don't need to use say/said and other variations of that. It's enough to simply have the speech enclosed.
༯ A good rule of thumb when using say/said/other variations is use them if there's something significant about the way in which it was said. Using said/other variations too often can be repetitive, dull, unnecessary, and a waste of time. Leave some things to the imagination, trust that your reader can tell what kind of emotion/thought is being conveyed.
Example: A Cursed Forest
His amber eyes cut through yours, and with disdain, he orders, “Finish your food, and do not question me any more.”
༯ Here, I introduce the speech with 'orders' to show that Sukuna (the character referred to as 'he') is not speaking kindly or like they are equals. It reasserts the power imbalance between the two characters. I also say that it is being said 'with disdain' to emphasise the tension between them, to give some kind of understanding as to his feelings towards the other character.
༯ It is also a way for me, as the writer, to add depth to the other character: she is able to recognise disdain because she has faced it her entire life.
༯ Another thing to be aware of when making dialogue is restrict one paragraph to one character's speech. Please don't do multiple people speaking in one section. It's very messy, confusing and not 'proper.' Again, if that is how you like things, perfectly fine! It's your style, but if you care about doing things 'right' then yeah, one person's speech per paragraph please.
How to increase the word count!
༯ I didn't actually know to phrase this so I'll just yap about what I mean
༯ There are going to be instances where you'd like to space out dialogue so it's not coming off like a script.
Example:
He said, "You need to do your homework."
"I don't want to."
"You must, young lady."
"Says who?"
"Go to your room!"
༯ Try to avoid, as much as possible, having lots of clusters of these one sentence conversations.
༯ Once in a while is fine and can be effective in expressing something like the speed at which these words are being exchanged, exploring their tense dynamic.
༯ But if snappiness isn't what you're going for and you find that you're having lots of these clusters then fill the spaces between dialogue with details and descriptions.
Example:
Tired yet insistent, he said, "You need to do your homework."
"I don't want to."
"You must, young lady."
Clare's father was always nagging at her. She thought it unfair, considering she had just turned sixteen and ought to be treated like the young lady that she was. Capable and intelligent, she could decide for herself how she was to spend her evenings. "Says who?"
"Go to your room!" He roared.
Her legs took her up the stairs faster than she could process the fright he had given her.
Never in all of her life had her father ever raised his voice like that; she knew not what to do. He was a mild-mannered man, not timid or passive, but rather, calm and rational.
To see him in a fit of rage so volatile shook Clare's constitution to no end that night.
༯ Use body language descriptors, describe the weather, the room they're in etc.
༯ What are the characters seeing and experiencing?
༯ Don't write it as if you're a fly on the wall if you've taken on a specific pov. Embody the character. See what they see, hear what they hear, feel for them. They aren't 2D characters, bring them to life with anecdotes, with thought processes, anxieties and fears.
༯ Another instance where you'd like to fill up the word count might be if you're trying to give the sense of time passing.
Example: In Sheep's Clothing
“Well, you should still afford me the decency of leaving my home when asked.”
“Your home? Didn’t know the old lady gave it away.”
You gulp, clutching the thick blanket even tighter. “You knew my grandmother?”
He grunts.
Well aware you really ought to kick him out, you’re ashamed at the realisation that you can’t bring yourself to. It’s awfully terrible outside and there’s no doubt the elements would claim him if he’s left out with no shelter. And if he wanted to kill you, he could have done that before. And at any rate, it’s too late to do anything about it now. He knows you’re alone and there’s nowhere you can run to before the snow freezes your limbs.
“Is it good?” You ponder.
Settling back down onto the sofa, you just watch him eat. He’s grabbed a second helping.
༯ This example is actually not the final product. It was my first draft where wolf hybrid!toji is eating and conversing with a woman (y/n) he has found himself stuck with during a snowstorm.
༯ I thought it awkward in showing that he's eating. Sure, it could seem like he's eating really fast but it felt unrealistically fast, even given the context, so I knew I wanted to fill in the space.
༯ Instead of talking on and on about how he's eating, I chose to dedicate this section with y/n's thoughts for a couple different reasons:
༯ One, descriptions of someone eating gets boring very fast
༯ Two, it would be extremely unrealistic for reader to just accept that this man will be staying with her with just one paragraph of thinking.
༯ Three, the concept of being hybrid needed to consistently matter in the story. So I chose to fill the details with exposition on that aspect of the story
Here is the final product:
“Well, you should still afford me the decency of leaving my home when asked.”
“Your home? Didn’t know the old lady gave it away.”
You gulp, clutching the thick blanket even tighter. “You knew my grandmother?”
He grunts.
Well aware you really ought to kick him out, you’re ashamed at the realisation that you can’t bring yourself to. It’s awfully terrible outside and there’s no doubt the elements would claim him if he’s left out with no shelter. Though, that really shouldn’t be your responsibility and there is still, of course, the glaring concern of his ability to kill you. One sweep of his figure and you know this towering man, tall and muscular, could snap your neck with one hand.
Or worse.
Not to mention, he’s a hybrid. You can tell by the twitching of his ears and his nose, like he’s hearing and smelling things inscrutable by the human senses. You wonder what he is. He has no triangular ears or fluffy tail like a dog, he doesn’t have eyes like a cat, no scales that you can see, but his teeth, when he scrapes them along the spoon, you know are much sharper than you’d like to ever find out.
If he wanted to kill you, he could have done that before. And at any rate, it’s too late to do anything about it now. He knows you’re alone and there’s nowhere you can run to before the snow freezes your limbs.
Settling back down onto the sofa, you just watch him eat. He’s grabbed a second helping, enjoying the meat more than the potatoes and carrots in there but that’s expected of a man. It does mean, though, that he’s not a herbivore hybrid. You wonder if he likes the taste of a woman’s flesh.
“Is it good?” You ponder.
༯ Hopefully, in this example you can get a sense of how 'rambling' can be useful in delivering specific effects.
༯ Note: too much dialogue can be bad. We need description and details to fill up the mind. Don't be afraid to give the details you'd like to give if you think it's important.
༯ Alternatively, not enough dialogue can also be bad. Too many thick paragraphs can disengage a reader and many people look forward to dialogue because it's much easier to process than chunks of information. So be sure to strike a balance.
Other advice!
Paragraph structure
༯ Vary your paragraphs with one sentences and longer sections. Having too many thick paragraphs can be quite boring. Apart from aesthetics, these different length sections can provide a function.
Example: Lying To Himself
The guys at work know better than to open their fat mouths around him when he turns up with an extra wrinkle and a ticking in his jaw. Toji is somehow even more sadistic and violent and eager for blood. Even finally accepts their invitation to go out for drinks and drowns himself in the extra strong shit. Assuming he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, they don’t question his sour mood.
But what they don’t know is that you texted, just a day before you’re set to come back, to let him know you’re staying another week.
Fucking texted.
Didn’t even get to hear it from your own voice.
༯ Longer paragraphs can cluster all these actions, detailing the things Toji has gotten up to and summarising how an unspecified time has passed. By condensing his days into one decently sized paragraph, a reader can gain the sense that his days have been monotonous and repetitive without even needing to read every part of it.
༯ The short, two word line is impactful and has been separated from the paragraph before it to deliver the punchiness. Here, Toji is angry. You can get this a) from the swear word but also from b) the fact that it's a two word sentence.
༯ It mimics the way one would grit out as they repeat information they dislike. Readers can very easily picture his face and his mental/emotional state just from two words.
༯ Another thing is to vary your paragraph openings.
A bad example:
He walked up to me, upset and clearly with choice words to deliver. No one else in the diner spared him a second glance. But I have no choice.
I'm shaking with fear.
He looks ready to punch me.
The way his hand is balled into a fist is damn near pushing me to piss my pants. Surely, he wouldn't hit me here, right?
There are witnesses.
It would be stupid.
A better variation of this:
Walking up to me, upset and clearly with choice words to deliver, no one else in the diner spares him a second glance. But I have no choice.
Fear shakes me from within.
He looks ready to punch me.
Hand balled into a fist, I'm damn near pushed to the edge of pissing my pants. Surely, he wouldn't hit me here, right?
Witnesses are around us.
Stupid. It would be stupid.
Right?
༯ Words like he/she/they/the/it/then are overused sentence openers. They are perfectly fine to use, of course. I am not saying avoid them altogether.
༯ What I am saying, however, is change it up to make it interesting.
༯ Begin a sentence with an action verb like walking rather than simply 'he walked.' Or an emotion like, ‘Disheartened, he walked away from that interview ready to give up.’
Punctuations
༯ Try to use semi-colons, colons and dashes but read up on how to use them correctly. It's easily Googled. It's not a major issue, it's just a way of varying your writing and making it more interesting.
༯ When using quotation marks, commas and full-stops go before the quotation.
Like so:
"Pick me. Choose me. Love me."
"I love you," she confessed.
Quivering, he asks, "Do you hate me?"
༯ Again, not major issues, but just for cleanliness.
How to fix up these typos and messiness
༯ I write in my Notes app first and then I paste my work in Word just to see the blue and red underlines. It allows me to visualise where there are mistakes so that I don't have to read every word with great focus, I can just skim as I proofread.
༯ You can also use things like Grammarly, though I generally wouldn't want to encourage you to use AI to edit your work for you. It's just an option if you need it.
༯ The best trick is to just learn how to follow these rules to do with syntax and language. Watch tutorials online and when reading works online or books, think critically about how things are formatted.
༯ This leads me to my next and final advice in this part
How get better generally
༯ Read more!
༯ But don't just absentmindedly consume media. Engage critically.
༯ Ask yourself these questions:
What is it about this piece of work that you like?
What's the style of writing the author has chosen? Is that their general style or have they chosen something specific for this work?
Why is this work more popular than another?
How do their sentences begin?
Is the writing full of prose?
Is it too much prose for my liking?
Oh, there's a particular bit that made me feel scared and uncomfortable, how did they do that? Is it their sentence structure? The adjectives they chose? Is it the build up of tension? If it's the tension, how did they achieve that in the previous paragraphs?
That made me giggle, how did they manage to be so funny?
Is that how I would have written it? If I had done it my way, would the impact still have been the same?
What if I try writing in their style?
Final disclaimers!
༯ You don't have to follow all of this or even any of this. Just having read this and reflected on your writing is a great place to start. If you know who you are as a writer, then you'll be much better placed to express your idea.
༯ Writing is a journey. Most people will look back on their beginning and think damn I was so bad at writing. But that's just a great way of knowing you've come far.
༯ There is no wrong or right way to write, no matter what people say. Even if you write unconventionally and make lots of typos and errors, there might still be many people who enjoy your works.
༯ Don't try to be someone else. It sounds cheesy to say, be yourself, but it's true. We need more diversity in writing. My favourite works, the ones who left a mark on me, who shaped me, are all so different from each other. That could be you to someone else if you keep working hard!
༯ Don't be afraid to experiment and try something new. Find yourself however it takes.
༯ If you're writing on here or a similar platform, you'll be opening yourself to being perceived. Establish your boundaries from the start. Are you open to feedback? It's completely fine if you are not. Some people aren't here to 'get better,' they're just here to have fun. But knowing what you want out of this will help in protecting your rights.
༯ And if you are open to feedback, it's absolutely okay to feel upset by what you hear/read. Just remember that a lot of these critiques are founded on preferences and some critics might have just misunderstood your works. There is no supreme authority on right and wrong here. No one knows everything. No one is perfect. So don’t take things personally and remember that you don’t have to take every critique in stride, you can disagree with them.
༯ Don’t compare yourself to other writers. It can be tempting to read other works as a writer and see them as competition or feel sad about how you’re not getting as many notes as them, but think. Everyone started somewhere. Your favourite authors, when they first started, were probably getting much less notes than they are now, and not all of their works have thousands and thousands of notes, but they still write, because they know someone somewhere out there will enjoy it. Sometimes, some works are not for everyone and there’s a beauty in sharing that experience with a few. It’s all about perspective!
If you have any questions, things you'd like covered in a next part, please share them. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this by asking questions and being candid about their struggles.
I hope this helped and I wish everyone the very best in their writing journey
doesn’t matter what position you’re in—he always makes sure you’re ruined by the end of it. missionary? he folds you in half, your knees smashed into your chest, cock battering your cunt so hard you can barely breathe, eyes rolled back while his chest presses heavy into yours.
doggy? he’s got one big hand forcing your head into the sheets, thick cock punching into your cervix from behind while he snarls about how wet you are for him.
but when he lifts you—holds you up like you weigh nothing, bouncing you midair on his cock—that’s when he fucks you into oblivion.
right now, you’re under him, thighs spread wide, ankles hooked over his shoulders. his bulky body cages you, heavy muscles flexing as he pounds into you so hard like he hates you. the bed creaks, headboard thuds against the wall, and you’re already sobbing, drool running down your chin as his cock carves you open.
“look at this fuckin’ mess,” toji growls, one big hand gripping your throat, thumb stroking lazily over your windpipe as your pussy squirts around him. “cunt’s takin’ me so deep, ma. you cryin’ like it hurts, but you won’t let go. greedy little hole.”
“t-toji—ahhh! ‘s deep.. y-you’re so deep, f-fuuckkk!” your nails claw into his arms, tears dripping down your temples. he leans down, lips brushing your ear, voice low and cruel. “shit, yer fuckin tight, baby. s like yer chokin my cock out.”
his hips slam forward even harder, and the fat tip of his cock crashes against your cervix so hard your scream cracks, the sound desperate and broken. your creamy pussy flutters helplessly, milking him so good.
and then he shifts. toji hooks his arms under your thighs and yanks you off the bed in one smooth motion like you weigh nothing, cock never slipping out. “nngh f-fuck—what —?!” you squeal, arms scrambling around his neck, legs locking tight around his waist as your back arches. he’s standing now, feet planted wide on the floor, holding you like you’re nothing more than a toy.
“—oohhh fuck! fuuuck, toji! s’too deep—ahhh—ohmygoood!” he grunted, eyes sharp, sweat glistens on his broad chest, muscles bulging as he begins to pound up into you, bouncing you on his cock like a ragdoll.
“haah fuck—yeah, that’s it, baby. lemme hear you. let everyone hear how good i fuck you.” wet squelches echo through the room, your slick dripping down his thick length, down his thighs, spattering the floor. your eyes roll back as his cock jackhammers into you, fat tip abusing your poor cervix, every thrust hard enough to make your walls gush.
“aauugghh! i’m—i’m gonna—fuuuckkk, i’m cumming! c-cumming... toji, i can’t—” your voice breaks into sobs, nails digging bloody crescents into his shoulders.
“yeah? feels good doesn't it, baby? ya love it when i fuck you like this? mmhm, yeah i know.” his words were steady but his thrusts went faster, meaner. “you cummin? yeah, you are. make a fuckin’ mess for me.” your body convulses, back arching as a violent orgasm tears through you. you scream, squirting hard, soaking his cock and the floor. but he doesn’t stop—if anything, it only spurs him on.
“nnghh—fuuuck, that's it, shit—so good, ma. keep cummin for me—you love it, huh?”
“y-yes! yesyesyes! ohmygod, too fucking good—” his pace is ruthless, cock swelling inside you, thick veins dragging against your walls until you’re sobbing into his neck.
“gonna cum in you, baby. this slutty cunt’s beggin’ for it.” he slams you down hard one last time, burying his cock balls-deep. his groan is feral, guttural, chest vibrating against yours as he unloads inside you. hot, thick ropes of cum flood your womb, spilling so much it leaks back down his shaft.
your body spasms, overstimulated, pussy still squirting weakly as he keeps grinding you down on his cock, making sure you’re plugged full.
you’re babbling nonsense now, head lolling against his shoulder, voice cracked and wrecked. “f-full—too full, toji—c-can’t…”
he chuckles lowly, still holding you up, still buried to the hilt. he carried you back to the bed and placed you down, his body caging you in once more. “hmm? too bad. yer not done ‘til i say yer done.” and from the way his cock twitches inside you, still hard, you know he means it.
Here for the Black girls with ass
Here for the Black girls with no ass
Here for the Black girls with curves
Here for the Black girls with no curves
Here for the Black girls with long hair
Here for the Black girls with short/no hair
Here for the Black girls with natural hair
Here for the Black girls with weave/relaxers
Here for the Black girls with clear skin
Here for the Black girls with acne/stretch marks/scars
Here for the Black girls with dark eyes
Here for the Black girls with light eyes
Here for the Black girls that are all Black
Here for the Black girls who are half/quarter
Here for the Black girls who are ghetto
Here for the Black girls who are nerdy
Here for the Black girls who are high-maintenance
Here for the Black girls who be chillin
Here for the Black girls who are stoners
Here for the Black girls who hold Bibles
Here for the Black girls who are sexual
Here for the Black girls who are asexual
Here for the Black girls who are saving themselves
Here for the Black girls who have casual sex
Here for the Black girls in crop tops and daisy dukes
Here for the Black girls with skirts to the ground
I’m here for Black girls
I’ll always be here for Black girls
Because we are worth it.
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
prguitarman
romaincrisis
dededos
vaporwave
snowghoul
