gracie abrams
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Stranger Things
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Sweet Seals For You, Always
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Product Placement
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Cosimo Galluzzi
Today's Document
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trying on a metaphor
will byers stan first human second
#extradirty
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
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Origami Around
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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@dark-chocolate-writing
My tags:
Not Mine -> not my post
Dark chocolate writing -> my post
Writing -> a snippet or full piece of writing
Writeblr/bookblr/authorblr -> about writing or books but does not necessarily include actual snippets of writing
My writing -> pieces of my writing
Not writing -> not a piece of writing, mine or otherwise
Writing meme -> obvious
The best part of writing is rereading something only to find out that you completely fucked up the timeline of something. (I had a character leaving for summer break only for 3 months later to somehow be January. Haha)
spend long enough being an OC Guy and you will eventually inevitably become a sincere recreation of the gregory berrycone 4chan bit
this is what i sound like to other people
Yes well I have six drafts and no time
Almost done with my WIP intros, hope to get them posted soon!
"You should create for yourself" and "it's okay to feel discouraged when creating your own original projects if no one interacts with them" are two sentences that should be able to co-exist with each other
On the one hand, you should kill that capitalist in your head that tells you to make art only for the enjoyment of other people. On the other hand, it's totally fine to be disappointed that you spent hours or even days on something that only got 4 notes. You can feel both ways.
If you have control over the back cover/Amazon description of your book, I highly recommend making sure it matches the actual contents of your book.
I'm currently reading a book where the description starts by saying that character x is sleeping with character y. 62% of the way into the book, character x and character y have not yet slept together.
Similarly, almost 40% of the way into a Nora Roberts book that I was reading last year, the book had still not yet reached the starting point described in the book summary.
If you say that something is currently happening in your book description, that thing had better be happening within the first couple chapters of your book.
This is a preference, not a rule. Blurblines use present tense to frame the arc and genre expectations, not to timestamp when specific events occur. Slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, and long-form romance regularly delay payoff well past the opening chapters, and that’s not deceptive marketing. A blurb should not lie, but it also is not a beat-by-beat schedule of the book.
This is one of those posts where someone mistakes their irritation for industry law, sprinkles it with authority, and hits publish. 📚🔥
When it takes 70% of the book to reach the singular arc referenced in the description, the description has failed.
They don't need to timestamp it in the description. They don't need to give a beat-by-beat. But if I pick up a book based on the only available information I have about that book, and then the book tells a different story, it has at best misled me and at worse straight-up lied to me about what I am getting.
Slow burn books don't tell us that they are already sleeping together. Enemies to lovers books don't tell us that they are already in a relationship when they're not. I have read enough book descriptions and enough books to know how to tell the difference between "this is a thing that will occur in the book" and "this is part of the premise of the book."
The book wasn't about what the description said, because the first 70% of the book did not match the description. The book description framed the book as a friends-with-benefits where one character wants more but is afraid to ask for it, but the book largely was about this character's childhood, in part be raised as the other character's foster sibling. I literally went back and checked to make sure it wasn't a YA book I had accidentally gotten instead of the adult book I expected it to be, because so much of the book took place while the main character was ages 13-18.
And honestly, I don't know if I'll ever read another book by this author, in part because I can't trust that the description of the book in any way matches the book I would be acquiring.
So sure, it's not a "rule," just like basically anything beyond "don't plagiarize" isn't a rule, because I'm a writing advice person, not a writing cop.
If you want your readers to choose your book because they think they might like it, and if you don't want your readers to get mad at you or feel betrayed because the book they got doesn't match the book they thought they were getting, and if you want readers to feel like they can actually trust your book descriptions, then you might want to take my advice.
If you don't care about any of that, do whatever you want đź‘Ť
Also, and I am honestly not trying to be smarmy or whatever about this, I read roughly 400 books last year. I am extremely well-versed in parsing book descriptions and having a decent sense from reading them what I am getting myself into. I do, in fact, have the experience to judge when a book description has problems and what at least some of those problems are.
You don't have to listen to me. I don't care if you do. But trying to explain the concept of blurblines and book descriptions to me as though this is the first time I've ever picked up a book in my life is honestly kind of funny at this point.
Well, before rejecting the author over it, figure out if it's self published.
I just had a book published (yay!) It is a very tiny book from a very small press who gave me no input whatsoever into the Amazon blurb or the back cover blurb. The Amazon blurb is a little spoilery and the back cover basically is the entire plot of the book, so I'm annoyed. Point is, though, I was offered no say whatsoever, so if someone wanted to get pissy because the whole plot of this very tiny book is described on the back cover, they'd probably be pissy with me and that would be unfair.
if the author self published, then it's reasonable to blame the author. If they were published by a publisher who is not them, they may have no control over this.
That is why I said in the very beginning of the post, "If you have control over the back cover/Amazon description of your book." I recognize not everyone has control over it.
But also, if I had read a description of the actual book before I started reading it, I wouldn't have read it. It wasn't what I am into, story-wise, and I did finish it once I started it, but that was more out of a sense of curiosity over whether the book would ever get to the plot laid out in the description.
I'm not pissed at the author. I have no idea if the author is to blame. I honestly don't care if they're to blame. This wasn't a post about blaming the author, this was a post giving advice as to what to do if you are an author and do have control over the book description of your book.
Whether the author wrote the description or the publisher wrote the description, the description was still wrong, and I have no way of knowing whether the other ones are also wrong. Why should I waste my time picking up another book where I can't trust the description and so might end up with something I equally am not particularly interested in reading?
How could I post a writing snippet on my Bluesky but not on my tumblr? Oh web site I've neglected you.
Original fiction writers: Do you reuse character names? (ex. having two characters in two different projects both named Jack) Do you name characters after people you know in real life? (ex. your friend is named Jack, and you also name one of your characters Jack) Only count instances where you were aware you were doing it: i.e, naming a character Jack and then later remembering that you have another Jack in a different WIP doesn't count.
I DO reuse names, I DO name characters after real people
I DO reuse names, I DON'T name characters after real people
I DON'T reuse names, I DO name characters after real people
I DON'T reuse names, I DON'T name characters after real people
Not an original fiction writer/see results
Original fiction writers: Do you reuse character names? (ex. having two characters in two different projects both named Jack) Do you name characters after people you know in real life? (ex. your friend is named Jack, and you also name one of your characters Jack) Only count instances where you were aware you were doing it: i.e, naming a character Jack and then later remembering that you have another Jack in a different WIP doesn't count.
I DO reuse names, I DO name characters after real people
I DO reuse names, I DON'T name characters after real people
I DON'T reuse names, I DO name characters after real people
I DON'T reuse names, I DON'T name characters after real people
Not an original fiction writer/see results
this website lets you listen to the sounds of all different forests around the worldÂ
Reblogging again cause I tried this site last night and if you need background noise to focus this is perfect for that, I was locked the fuck in on a task. And it’s also just gorgeous to listen to
Questions to ask beta readers
General:
Were you confused at any point of the story?
What genre would you say this book is?
When did you put the story down?
Is the ending satisfying?
If you had to cut 3 scenes what would they be?
When did you feel like the story really began?
What was the last book you read before this story?
Characters:
Do you get any of the characters names confused?
Which character is your favorite?
If you had to remove a character who would you and why? (you don't have to remove the character, just make sure their role is meaningful)
Which character do you relate to the most?
Which character do you relate to the least?
Do the characters feel real?
Are character relationships believable?
Are the goals clear and influence the plot?
Are the characters distinct (voice, motivations, etc)
Setting:
Which setting was clearest to you?
Which setting was the most memorable?
Am including enough/too much detail?
Plot and conflict:
Are the internal and external conflicts well defined for the main characters?
Are the internal conflicts and the external conflicts organic and believable?
Are there enough stakes?
Are the plot twists believable but still unexpected?
If the character doesn't have at least one moment where I cringe at something dumb they said, are they even realistic?
STOP BEING HONEST STOP BARING YOUR HEART 2026 IS THE YEAR OF RIDDLES AND ELABORATE LIES
🍖 How to Build a Culture Without Just Inventing Spices and Necklaces
(a worldbuilding roast. with love.)
So. You’re building a fantasy world, and you’ve just invented: → Three types of ceremonial jewelry → A spice that tastes like cinnamon if it were bitter and cursed → A holiday where everyone wears gold and screams at dawn
Cute. But that’s not culture. That’s aesthetics.
And if your worldbuilding is all outfits, dances, and spice blends with vaguely mystical names, your story’s probably going to feel like a cosplay convention held inside a Pinterest board.
Here’s how to fix that—aka: how to build a real, functioning culture that shapes your story, not just its vibes.
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đź”— Culture Is Built on Power, Not Just Style
Ask yourself: → Who’s in charge, and why? → Who has land? Who doesn’t? → What’s considered taboo, sacred, or punishable by death?
Culture is shaped by who gets to make the rules and who gets crushed by them. That’s where things like religion, family structure, class divisions, gender roles, and social expectations actually come from.
Start there. Not at the embroidery.
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2.🪓 Culture Comes From Conflict
Did this society evolve peacefully? Was it colonized? Did it colonize? Was it rebuilt after a war? Is it still in one?
→ What was destroyed and mythologized? → What do the survivors still whisper about? → What do children get taught in school that’s… suspiciously sanitized?
No culture is neutral. Every tradition has a history, and that history should taste like blood, loss, or propaganda.
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3.🧠Belief Systems > Customs Lists
Sure, rituals and holidays are cool. But what do people believe about: → Death? → Love? → Time? → The natural world? → Justice?
Example: A society that believes time is cyclical vs. one that sees time as linear will approach everything—from prison sentences to grief—completely differently.
You don’t need to invent 80 gods. You need to know what those gods mean to the people who pray to them.
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4.đź«€ Culture Controls Behavior (Quietly)
Culture shows up in: → What people apologize for → What insults cut deepest → What people are embarrassed about → What’s praised publicly vs. what’s hidden privately
For instance: → A culture obsessed with stoicism won’t say “I love you.” They’ll say “Have you eaten?” → A culture built on legacy might prioritize ancestor veneration, archival writing, name inheritance.
This stuff? Way more immersive than giving everyone matching earrings.
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5. 🏠Culture = Daily Life, Not Just Festivals
Sure, your MC might attend a funeral where people paint their faces blue. But what about: → Breakfast routines? → How people greet each other on the street? → Who cooks, and who eats first? → What’s considered “clean” or “proper”? → How is parenting handled? Divorce?
Culture is what happens between plot points. It should shape your character’s assumptions, language, fears, and habits—whether or not a festival is going on.
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6. đź’¬ Let Your Characters Disagree With Their Own Culture
A culture isn’t a monolith.
Even in deeply traditional societies, people: → Rebel → Question → Break rules → Misinterpret laws → Mock sacred things → Act hypocritically → Weaponize or resist what’s expected
Let your characters wrestle with the culture around them. That’s where realism (and tension) lives.
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7.🧼 Beware the “Pretty = Good” Trap
Worldbuilding gets boring fast when: → The protagonist’s homeland is beautiful and pure → The enemy’s culture is dark and “barbaric” → Every detail just reinforces who the reader should like
You can—and should—challenge the aesthetic hierarchy. → Let ugly things be beloved. → Let beautiful things be corrupt. → Let your MC romanticize their culture and then get disillusioned by it later.
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📍 TL;DR (but like, spicy): → Culture is not food and jewelry. → Culture is power, fear, memory, contradiction. → Stop inventing spices until you know who starved last winter. → Let your world feel lived in, not curated.
The best cultural worldbuilding doesn’t look like a list. It feels like a system. A pressure. A presence your characters can’t escape—even if they try.
Now go. Build something real. (You can add spices later.)
—rin t. // writing advice for worldbuilders with rage and range // thewriteadviceforwriters
Sometimes the problem isn’t your plot. It’s your first 5 pages. Fix it here → 🖤 Free eBook: 5 Opening Pages Mistakes to Stop Making:
✦ A free (and actually helpful) guide to leveling up your first 10 pages ✦If you're unsure whether your opening is ✨doing enough✨ to hook re
🕯️ download the pack & write something cursed:
A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.✎ Write the Darkness ✎A 75-prompt horror
How to Write a Character Who Feels Like Throwing Up
When fear, dread, or guilt gets sickening—literally—your character is consumed with a gut-clenching feeling that something is very, very wrong. Here's how to write that emotion using more than the classic "bile rose to the back of their throat".
Start with the Stomach
This isn’t just about discomfort. It’s about a complete rebellion happening inside their body.
Their stomach twists like a knot that keeps pulling tighter
A cold sweat beads on their neck, their palms, their spine
Their insides feel sludgy, like everything they’ve eaten is suddenly unwelcome
They double over, not from pain, but because sitting still feels impossible
Add Sensory Overload
Vomiting isn’t just a stomach reaction—it’s the whole body.
Their mouth goes dry, and then too wet
Their jaw tightens, trying to contain it
A sudden heat blooms in their chest and face, overwhelming
The back of their throat burns—not bile, but the threat of it
Breathing becomes a conscious effort: in, out, shallow, sharp
Emotional Triggers
Nausea doesn’t always need a physical cause. Tie it to emotion for more impact:
Fear: The kind that’s silent and wide-eyed. They’re frozen, too sick to speak.
Guilt: Their hands are cold, but their face is flushed. Every memory plays like a film reel behind their eyes.
Shock: Something just snapped inside. Their body registered it before their brain did.
Ground It in Action
Don’t just describe the nausea—show them reacting to it.
They press a fist to their mouth, pretending it’s a cough
Their knees weaken, and they lean on a wall, pretending it’s just fatigue
They excuse themselves quietly, then collapse in a bathroom stall
They swallow, again and again, like that’ll keep everything down
Let the Consequences Linger
Even if they don’t actually throw up, the aftermath sticks.
A sour taste that won’t leave their mouth.
A pulsing headache
A body that feels hollowed out, shaky, untrustworthy
The shame of nearly losing control in front of someone else
Let Them Be Human
A character feeling like vomiting is vulnerable. It's real. It’s raw. It means they’re overwhelmed in a way they can’t hide. And that makes them relatable. You don’t need melodrama—you need truth. Capture that moment where the world spins, and they don’t know if it’s panic or flu or fear, but all they want is to get out of their own body for a second.
Don't just write the bile. Write the breakdown.
Everything I write is a damn time loop
I love dual perspective narratives that carefully dance around a single cutting piece of information which once revealed completely re-contextualizes the entire story. I also love cartoonish violence, i'm a man of many faces.
