writing is hard

he/they | AO3 | Ko-Fi |Header credits to the awe-inspiring @tomminowrites | This is where I post things I write, writing inspo, tips, and other people's works

[yamino]

I have made a pay-what-you-want zine about... How To Make Zines!

I go over my entire process, so you too can learn how to supplement your income with zines. Please give it a look, and share if you find it helpful!

[muppetlesbian]

Ao3? More like Ao2 (Archive of My Own) which is just my folder of untitled, unedited, and absolutely feral Google Docs I have no intention of sharing with anyone

[ao3commentoftheday]

thank you, fic readers, for all of the wonderful things you to do help writers keep on writing

[fanbows]

@rainbowrowell reminding us why she’s our queen 👑

(x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x) (x)

[kicsterash]

I am posting this here because this is important for people to know. I encourage fan fiction.

[femshepobsessed]

I approve this message to the fullest possibility

[fuckblast]

i want to write the kind of short stories you read in english class that are on this weird level of surrealism that they still haunt you years down the road

[suburbanmomromanceclub]

File this under “super obvious yet I always seem to forget it.”

[iamwordsandpixels-deactivated20]

I don’t write romance (I totally respect people who do, though!) but this is also great writing advice in general! What is preventing the protagonist from achieving their goal?

Why can’t these two people be together now?

Why can’t the mystery be solved now?

Why can’t they overthrow the evil overlord now?

If you don’t have a solid answer for these questions, that’s a good indicator that the plot could use some more work.

[megan-cutler]

Also test your answer a little bit. If it’s as thin as they’re just refusing to sit down and have a simple conversation, you might want to re-think how things are going.

[operahousebookworm]

As a beta reader/editor, I tend to ask this question a lot: “Why are they doing it this way when there’s a much easier path available?” That’s not to say that they should take the easier path, because that would usually be boring. Instead, the point is that the question needs an answer–either eliminate the easier path or give them a very clear reason for not taking it. (And if I’m asking the question, that reason isn’t as clear as you think it might be.)

I find it very difficult to root for characters who have a sensible option available and just don’t take it. If the only reason is “Because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise,” you haven’t actually found the story yet.

[riptidepublishing]

And this is why the Big Misunderstanding as a primary plot device is almost universally disliked.

[ksazines]

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPENED!

Applications for the えりとともだち Eri and Friends zine, an activity book style zine, are now opened from November 18 to December 9 (GMT+8)!

Please read the contributor app requirements before applying!

Applications: Artist | Merch Artist | Writer

Google Drive Sharing Tutorial | Info Site

[ksazines]

@zine-scene @zineapps @zinefeed @zinefans @fandomzines  @uahigh-newsletter @bnha-community-board @bnhafandomcalendar @bnhabulletin @zineforall

[lyresandlasers]

list of favorite things as a fanfic author:

When someone is really freaking mad at me for inducing an emotional response from them

when readers give me a background of how/when they read my writing

when readers give me a background of why they shouldn’t have been reading my writing (usually while at work)

when readers quote my work back to me in comments

the frickin’ real heroes here, the ones who comment on every chapter of an ongoing multi-chapter fic

[underthemistletoehqzine]

❄ Applications are OPEN! ❄

Welcome to Under the Mistletoe - A Haikyuu!! Winter Holiday charity zine featuring all our wonderful Haikyuu!! characters in a festive, wintery setting celebrating the holiday season and the arrival of 2020! 

We are pleased to announce that Applications are OPEN! 

They will be open from NOV 22 to DEC 15. We encourage artists, writers and mods to apply! Please find the links for the respective application forms below:

❄  Mod Application

❄ Contributor Application

You can also find our schedule here and our FAQs here.

If you have any questions regarding the zine, the apps or anything else you feel we haven’t covered, send us a message! 

We’re looking forward to your applications and working with you!

[underthemistletoehqzine]

@haikyuu-community-board @haikyuubulletin @fandomzines @zine-scene @zineapps @zinefeed @zineforall

[gravywheels]

You know what bugs me about soulmate aus? So, I’m assuming that this whole “the first thing your soulmate says to you blahblahblah” is a worldwide thing. So many of the aus I’ve read have a quote at some point that addresses how tragic it is when people have soul words that say something like “hi” or “‘sup” which makes NO SENSE! In a world where the first thing you say to people is THAT important, WHY GOD WHY would the culture still use standard greetings? Who the fuck is still saying hello at this point? Everyone in these worlds would surely develop a personalized greeting different from everybody else’s to prevent confusion. Like how no 2 racehorses can have the same racing name? The best part is that every time people met someone new for the first time, they would try to say something that no one else had said. You’d have people meeting eachother at a job intetview, they’d shake hands, smile politely, then one of them would be like “Every Tuesday, I hard even grape purple farm house sunsets too” and this would be perfectly normal. Or you’d go up to the cash register at Starbucks and instead of saying “Hello, what can i get for you today?” She’d look you right in the eye and say “I don’t know what Space Jam is” THEN ask you what you want and she’d repeat that to every customer in the line for the rest of her career. And because they live in the AU, nobody would think it was weird.

[crowsent]

op you are forcibly opening my third eye with a crowbar and i am here for it

[redyarns]

op i am writing this

[hauntingszine]

Contributor Apps NOW OPEN

The Hauntings: An Original Horror Zine

Applications will be open from July 16th to August 18th (based on the EST time zone). We’re looking for illustrators, writers, merchandise artists, and moderators!

About The Hauntings 

We are a horror zine focusing on various types of locations, creatures, and items associated with hauntings and possession. Ghosts, demons, other supernatural creatures, and the people or objects being haunted or possessed can all be depicted. Fanart and sexual content are not allowed in this zine, and applicants must be at least 13 years or older to apply. We do allow gore, body horror, folklore, and original concepts. 

You CAN apply for multiple positions (writer, merch artists, or illustrator) but you may only be selected for one of the positions that you apply for.

Help us paint a picture of the dark events and horrific scenes tied to the supernatural creatures behind them. After all, the world is full of ghosts and demons yet to be discovered…

—————————————–

Illustrator Application

Writer Application

Merch Artist Application

Moderator Application

—————————————–

If you have any questions, please look at our FAQ, Schedule, or send us an ask 

[ FAQ / SCHEDULE ]

[headspace-hotel]

Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months 

[lionpridezines]

VOLUME #2 THEME ANNOUNCEMENT

With Volume #1 (Fantasy & Fairytales) opening sales March 31st, it’s time to o-fish-ally announce Volume #2′s fintastic theme: The Ocean. 

If you’ve always wanted to sink your teeth into some good original LGBT+ content by LGBT+ creators, surrounding the mysterious depth and diversity of the ocean, this volume is perfect for you. Applications open April 5th, and are open to artists (comic & illustration), writers (poetry & prose), as well as musicians. 

Stay tuna-ed for more details to follow. 

ABOUT | ASK | FAQ | SCHEDULE

[wordscollide-klancezine]

Introducing: Words Collide Participants!

These are our lovely contributors to the zine! Please be sure to check them all out! We are pleased with the work they have put in so far to the zine and we can’t wait to show them off later! Writers: Fevered Dreams (ao3) // Finwritesthings (ao3) // Imaginationcubed (ao3) // Kaylee Schuyler (ao3) // Klanstability (ao3) // Koganewest // Leggydeco  (instagram) // Maternalcube (ao3) // Racing-west // Shatterinseconds  (ao3) // Sucubustykisses (ao3)

Artists: Aiyume (twitter) // Chunyyii (instagram) // Daifha (instagram) // Kirlikestodraw (instagram) // Mimiagular (instagram) // MultiE96 (devianart) // Nikole-Kephir // Owlynys (instagram) // Refinegluttony (instagram) // Salamandraimoral (twitter) // Sammyzozo (instagram) // Shaeyra (instagram) // Subsjr (twitter) // Zharpzhooter  -Words Collide Mods @quiznakchronicle

[vld-au-zinecollection]

Hello everyone!! First and foremost, I’m terribly sorry about the lack of updates! The intention was to update as we received product which is unfortunately taking a fair bit longer than we originally anticipated so let me update you on where we do stand currently!

Everything, with the exception of the zines themselves, has been ordered. The prints (with the exception of the foil print from the Shance Zine) have arrived! We had to sort through a printing error where some of them were missing and wait for those to come in, but they’re all here now and I’ll be sure to get a picture of each set up after this post goes live ✨ I made sure to take the time after pre-orders to test samples to make sure I was satisfied with what I was seeing, however due to delays and order build ups on the end of our manufacturers production has been delayed somewhat and that ultimately was completely out of my hands.

The better news, I have received photographs of all of the enamel pins from the manufacturer!! I’m waiting on a second picture of the Shance pin to double check the colors, but as soon as I see that everything is ok with that I’ll share the manu photo and those will begin the long trek to me where I can prep them for shipping.

Zine PDF’s are currently 75% complete. This, I know, has definitely taken the longest and I apologize for that. Initially we had someone handling all of the PDFs but communication became shoddy and I ended up taking them into my own hands just recently. The software has been a learning curve but everything has been coming together so so beautifully.

There seems to be an issue with the blogs inbox though where we are not receiving asks, so please if you have questions, message directly! I’ll admit that I am currently a bit frazzled, as working full time and managing production will do that to you, as well as being very very close to one of the Woolsey wildfire in California, but I’ll do my best to get back to you within a day or so.

Thanks so much everyone, next step, pictures!

[lesbianlinkle-moved]

Tying your self worth as a creator to how many followers, notes, and reblogs you get is unhealthy

I really truly feel like we need to talk about this, especially as someone who has grown up as an artist online.

I’ve absorbed some unhealthy mindsets over the years and have since spent a long time unlearning them, this is definitely one of the most insidious ones.

It’s SO easy to get into a mindset that unless you get x number of notes on your work like all those other creators, what you make isn’t worth anything.

But the truly nasty part about this mindset is you never reach “x number”, because it always gets bigger!

100 notes, 500 notes, 1,000 notes, 10,000 notes… as soon as you get a single post that reaches one of your milestones - you want it to get bigger.

It’s not surprising i mean there’s entire video games where the only reward is the number getting bigger, there’s a sense of validation from seeing that number grow.

But the internet is fickle, you cannot predict what will be picked up and what won’t. This is important to remember, so much of it is based on chance and not on your personal skill.

Like, there’s a constant stream of new content being put up online every second. Having someone see your post at all is honestly amazing if you think about it.

Anyway, it’s so so easy and so unbelievably unhealthy to fall into a mindset of ‘nobody reblogs my work, I can’t create anything good’. But it’s just not true!

Your value as a creator is not determined by a number on your social media page.

It’s determined by you, and what you value in your work. For your own mental health, try not to focus on the numbers.

Focus on the people - your friends, that person who likes and reblogs everything you post, the people who wait excitedly for your next creation. They’re the ones who matter, not the number at the bottom.

It’s not easy, but the less you tie your self worth to a nebulous, unreachable number the better you’ll feel about your work.

[leicawri]

‘Tis I, a writer, togetherslapper of words.