@effyswritingjournal - Tumblr Blog

Welcome to My Writing Journal

Here, I am going to be reblogging things I find useful/relevant to various WIPs and maybe my own random author's notes at times. My main blog is in-effyable.

(my header image is from pinterest. the words are from e.e. cummings' [since feeling is first])

Most of/all of my reblogs will be queue'd.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #creative writing #a/n

msvelawciraptor

Thinking about this moment in 1776 for no particular reason today.

#character development

possessable

also facades and false identities are so fun . many such variations.

someone accidentally slipping further into a facade than they intended . someone purposefully retreating further into a facade . someone accidentally dropping their normally impeccable facade for a moment . someone purposefully letting their facade down as a taunt or mockery or in a genuine way because they're finally in a situation where they don't need the facade anymore . someone whose facade really is just a tool that they have complete control over and it never falters or fails . someone whose facade is the opposite and they're having a really bad time trying to maintain their facade or trying to maintain their true self under the facade . many such good options. all fun.

i love you facades and false identities and presentations of the self and separation of aspects of the self and

#character development

insert-witty-user-name-here

#me @ myself rn

dingdongbitxh

the born lucky and lucky to be born quote is so insane to me bcs it makes sense on a surface level jntil you genuinely peel back the layers and you realise that the tragedy of Azula was that she was not lucky enough to have a heart and also to survive. She did not get to have a heart if she was going to survive where she was. But she did have one. She wouldn't have had her mental breakdown if she didn't. Azula genuinely loved Zuko, loved Mai and Ty Lee and unfortunately Ozai. In the end, they all betrayed her. She chose to trust her brother and friends and it stabbed her in the back anyway. Ozai abandoned her too. Then, she spiraled even more and in her kast lucid moment she saw her mother, the woman who always knew she didn't have a heart (even if she did). Her last lucid moment was proof that she did and both choosing to bury it and indulge it led to her downfall one way or another. It was inevitable but it didn't have to be.

#atla #azula #character development

sailorluna15

idk if this is considered an unpopular opinion but I hate when I see fics on Azula redemption or Zuko's reign and it's written in a way that makes it seem like the Fire Nation hates Azula. Azula was the pride of the Fire Nation and royalty, the Fire Nation wouldn't have hated her. If anything, they would've felt like it was some sort of injustice that Azula was removed from the throne. Y'all have to remember that Zuko was seen as a traitor of the Fire Nation. If anything, people would've hated HIM in the beginning and even towards the middle of his reign.

Deconstructing colonialism takes a long time. Truth be told is would take DECADES for the Fire Nation to dislike Azula and even after decades, she probably would still be socially acknowledged for her prowess and dedication to the Fire Nation by many.

It would go something like this:

"Yeah, Azula capturing Ba Sing Se was bad, but you can't lie, she did in 3 days what General Iroh tried to do in 600. That's fucking amazing."

That's how people talk about some conquerors now, why wouldn't they talk about them like that in ATLA?

FYI: I deleted the last paragraph of this bc I didn't like what i wrote. I stand on everything else tho.😭

#atla #world building

unheardoracle

I love characters who are like "I'm a terrible person" but when you look closer it's more like

"I adapted to survive something and now I don't know how to stop being that version of myself."

#character development

thesefallenembers

the problem with reading and writing leading to a strong vocabulary is that you tend to know the vibe of words instead of their meanings.

if I used this word in a sentence, would it make sense? absolutely. if you asked me what it meant, could I tell you? absolutely not.

fixyourwritinghabits

OKAY HOLD UP I KNOW THIS IS A SHITPOST BUT I HAVE A DEGREE IN THIS

Okay, so when we talk about the meaning of words, we are talking about denotation, the dictionary definition of the word, and connotation, the context in which native speakers associate with the word. Connotation is why just looking up synonyms of words doesn't always work.

When teaching this to ESL learners, my favorite example is the word "accumulate." Accumulate means to gather or collect in the dictionary definition of the words. The error in the example is for someone to say "I accumulate things" instead of "I collect things." This sounds wrong, because despite the denotation of the word, the most common connotation of accumulate is that a process done over time and without intent. Water accumulates. Dust accumulates. Money accumulates. But a person cannot say they accumulate things, because that is not a natural usage of the word.

However! As a writer who likes to learn new words, you can now use this knowledge to your advantage. Consider the following sentences:

Bob collected unread books until they piled high around his bed.

Versus

Books accumulated around Bob's bed, turning it into a fortress of unread words.

Both sentences are telling us the same thing - but the latter gives us a bit more insight on Bob, in that he's not intentionally obtaining so many books and not reading them, and that's a far more interesting thing to learn. The more you learn these words in context, the more you can use them to enrich your own writing. Embrace the thesaurus - but pay attention to those example sentences and how those words are actually used!

#vocab

its-a-writer-thing

The Importance of an Author Website

Author websites are yet another way for writers to promote themselves to their readers. You can aggregate your collection of writings, advertise new releases, share social media links, leak extra tidbits about your stories, or even introduce yourself to the reading community. But that’s mainly for big-time authors, right? Or those who have contracts with publishing companies?

On the contrary, when it comes to launching yourself as a self-published author, an author website can be the most important platform you have – even over an Amazon or Goodreads page. While both those options are important as well, an author website accomplishes six main things:

Why to Have an Author Site

It’s a hub of information about you, your books, new releases, and serves as a base for linking to other things.

It shows professionalism. When a reader finds an unknown author in their recommendations list, before they commit to buying, they’re likely to do a quick Google search of your name. An author website shows you’re invested in your craft and have confidence that your book is worth their time.

It secures a presence. Anyone can create an Amazon or Goodreads profile, and there’s only limited information you can provide there. An author website establishes you as the one and only author of your name.

It better advertises your social media presence. Rather than hunting through the web by themselves, trying to determine which ‘so-and-so’ is the one they’re seeking, they can easily follow you across all your available platforms from one effortless location.

Better advertise later releases. Rather than starting from scratch with your next published book, or risk getting lost in the news feed of Twitter with your promo, an author website allows you to promote and share your next release to an audience that already knows you. Plus, if a new reader were to find your website after checking out your first book, they can easily view that you have others in store.

It’s easy to organize your collection. As you publish more books, there’s no danger of getting the sequence out of whack; readers can look to your officially declared order, and get back to reading without hesitance or confusion that may cause them to look elsewhere.

The question stands, however: Do you really need an author website?

Keep reading

madame-snail-smooches

Easily the most complimented feature of my writing has always been how strongly I convey emotion, so here's my unsolicited advice on making your readers feel what your characters are feeling:

Physicalize - I am personally a very emotional human being, and I feel things very physically. I think that helps me describe emotions on paper, because I tend to connect emotions with physical sensations. For example, instead of "he felt sad," I would say "sadness washed over him in a lukewarm tide." That physicalization of the abstract feeling can make it easier for people to replicate the feeling in their own minds. So basically, I'm taking the emotions I want to convey and thinking, "how does this emotion feel on a physical level?" and then describing that. "Anxiety tightened in her gut." "Anger bubbled under his skin." "Her body was light, drifting in euphoria." Metaphors are your friends.

~Body Language~ - Another physical indicator of emotion is how people's body language changes to reflect what they feel. This is huge when dealing with non-POV characters. Any time that you could say "she looked upset," you would do better to just describe how she looked. "She furrowed her brow, looking down." "His fist tightened on the door handle." "The silverware rattled in the drawer as she jerked it open." Emotions often come through in the way characters interact with objects around them. In that vein, you can usually express it more clearly if you focus around some action that the character is performing (even a tiny little one). Making note of details like avoiding eye contact, how/when people fidget, whether their movements are sharp or fluid, and stuff like that can go a long way in conveying emotions more naturally.

Wait How Do People Talk Again?? - Dialogue can be really tough if it doesn't come naturally to you. I voice-act quietly to myself pretty much all of the dialogue I write just to make sure it sounds natural. Again, pulling from real-life experience is usually best here; imagine how you've heard real people talk when they are feeling angry, depressed, panicked, etc. Think about phrasing and tone inflection - do their words sound short, sharp, and clipped? How do their phrasing choices show that? Do they ramble in a bright, bubbly tone? Are they monotone and flat? Do they use a lot of filler words because their brain is moving too fast (or too slow)? Are they so tired or hesitant that they trail off or pause frequently?

That's my main advice on conveying emotion through writing. Feel free to add on or ask questions!

#emotions

livelaughwriteit

Advice on Endings

I hate ending my stories. I will drag a story on long after it should have ended even though I know it should be done with. If anyone else struggles as well, here is a list of the different types of endings that are common.

Full Circle – Mirror the beginning of the story, show how the tone has shifted from start to end

Bittersweet – Character wins at the cost of something else, creates emotional depth

Emotional resolution – Focuses more on the growth of the characters than the events of the story

Twist – reveal something that changes the readers perspective or understanding

Open – doesn’t answer all the questions or solve all the conflicts of the story, leaving room for interpretation

Quiet – Subtle, reflective ending rather than a dramatic event

Sacrifice – The character has to give something up to achieve a greater goal

Hopeful – Despite the events of the story, there is a distinct sense that everything will be okay

Consequence – Shows how the characters choices throughout the story impact the world or their relationship

Character choice – centers on a decision that defines who the character has become through the story

opheliaaesque

+

on the water and fire siblings

avatar: the last airbender (2005) / dustin pearson, the world at its beginning / jandy nelson, i'll give you the sun / the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (2005) / anne sexton, again and again and again / nathaniel orion, hevel / seamus heaney, the burial at thebes / hannibal (2013) / dacia maraini, tr. by tim vode, from dreams of clytemnestra / anne sexton, a self-portrait in letters

#sibling dynamics

inoculatedcupcake

tuttle-did-it

I have been attacked.

storyofnebula

paper moths 📃 (a zine/paper-cutout styled theme)

preview here! code (paste this in the edit html section of your custom theme!)

about this theme:

🌙 single-column zine-style feed with a sticky editorial sidebar ✨ supports all post types (text, photos, photosets, quotes, audio, videos, etc.) 🔮 built with html, css, and vanilla javascript 💜 day/night mode toggle that remembers your choice between visits 🪻 multi-panel sidebar with a masthead, about card, custom links, now-playing card, and social icons NOTE: the "now playing" is merely for the aesthetic, not a functional music player ⭐ fully customizable from tumblr’s customize panel, you do not need to edit the code: ‣ 15 color options (7 light mode + 8 dark mode, including a separate accent card color for the now-playing block) ‣ two-tone title (split first word + second word for that swash effect ‣ 7 on/off toggles for the dark mode toggle, now-playing card, tape effect, post rotations, top issue strip, avatar, and elsewhere section ‣ 6 custom sidebar link slots (label + url) ‣ 5 social icon slots (email, spotify, ko-fi, twitter, instagram) 🌌 2 extra nav link slots in the top strip 💫 little masking-tape strips on top of each post + slight rotation for the scrapbook aesthetic (both toggleable!!) 🪐 fonts: fraunces (serif headers), jetbrains mono (tags + labels), caveat (handwritten tagline) this is free theme, but reblogs are appreciated! don’t remove watermark!

idlelizard

shapely sugar bowl

#real world fantasy

lioness--hart

In re my last reblog I got too excited about it to add the tags BUT this deserves its own post anyway.

Do not mistake skepticism for cynicism. The line between the two is PAPER thin but here's how you can tell them apart: curiosity.

The skeptic is curious; they're looking for arguments and ideas and facts that will teach them or show them things they're skeptical about.

The cynic is uncurious. They've already up their minds about everything, and any information or ideas to the contrary will be treated with disdain and hostility.

#character development

eldritchdilf-deactivated2025061

Contrary to popular belief the biggest beginner's roadblock to art isn't even technical skill it's frustration tolerance, especially in the age of social media. It hurts and the frustration is endless but you must build the frustration tolerance equivalent to a roach's capacity to survive a nuclear explosion. That's how you build on the technical skill. Throw that "won't even start because I'm afraid it won't be perfect" shit out the window. Just do it. Just start. Good luck.

#advice

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