deathly allergic to writing in pen

lee • he/they • home base for the reading and writing of @scriptmyworld

[ahungeringknife]

Just as a reminder you can write entire pieces of JUST exploratory and speculation for your own WIP or story and they don't have to go anywhere. You are not beholden to a character arc or a rising and falling action with a conclusion. Sometimes you just wanna write a side scene with some characters doing some things. Or you need to just need to write what would amount to an academic paper about a certain landscape in your story. Like that's also fine.

Also these things don't need endings. When you finish them they're done. Even if it's in the 'middle' of something. You got out the part you wanted and now you're done and you satisfied the plot bunny demanding blood sacrifice of you writing that specific scene right now. Congrats you're done now.

Don't let the editor in your mind steal your joy of writing your silly little story. The mind editor is the thief of joy.

[valtsv]

i like that it's possible for wounds to be haunted. like scars can ache, and severed limbs can produce phantom sensations, and their physical presence or lack thereof itself functions as a reminder of what happened (or what was done) to you. wounds can reopen, or become infected, or refuse to heal, driving themselves deeper into the body and making them harder to ignore. you can try to conceal a wound, cover it up and close it off, but a stubborn wound will bleed through again and again no matter how much distance you try to put between it and yourself. the body keeps the score.

[valtsv]

i'm especially fond of wounds that make their presence known under immense stress, bleeding through clothing or bandages or magic spells and forcing you to acknowledge them, because there's something so deliciously horrible about seeing the cracks in someone's composure physically open up and reveal things they'd rather keep hidden. sorry baby but your own body has betrayed you despite your best efforts to resist it!

[scriptmyworld]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Yellowjackets (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Jackie Taylor/Original Female Character(s), Shauna Shipman & Jackie Taylor, Natalie Scatorccio & Jackie Taylor, Misty Quigley & Shauna Shipman, Shauna Shipman & Taissa Turner, Vanessa “Van” Palmer/Taissa Turner Characters: Jackie Taylor (Yellowjackets), Shauna Shipman, Natalie Scatorccio, Misty Quigley, Original Female Character(s), Lottie Matthews, Taissa Turner, Vanessa “Van” Palmer, Laura Lee (Yellowjackets), Ben Scott (Yellowjackets), Jeff Sadecki, Adam Martin (Yellowjackets), Original Male Character(s)

“The same night that a drunken catfight took away their Nationals trip, Jackie’s boyfriend and her best friend were fucking each other. And now instead of spending the summer before college prepping for Rutgers with her best friend, she has to look after a bunch of snot-nosed kids for ten weeks in Nowhere, New York with no best friend to speak of. What a joke.”

or: The Wiskayok High Yellowjackets take on summer camp.

[transxfiles]

me: *writes fic*

me: great! time to post to ao3-

ao3 summary box: *exists*

me: 

ao3 summary box:

me:

ao3 summary box: 

me:

[rooksandravens]

[rjeddystone]

Ooh, this is actually kinda a neat thing, because you can think of it as a checklist:

Who: Main character(s)

Why: Character goal or desire (stated)

Why: Character need (implied)

When: Inciting Incident

What: Means (that achieves the goal/need)

Where: Place A >> Place B

How: The Plan

Obstacle(s): antagonist or challenge

For example:

Who: Bilbo Baggins, a respectable hobbit of Hobbiton

Why: Treasure, wealth (stated)

Why: Adventure, self-respect (implied)

When: After supper

What: Quest

Where: Hobbiton >> The Lonely Mountain

How: A company of dwarves, a wizard, and an ancient map and key

Main antagonist(s): a dragon

Thus, in less than 100 words:

Bilbo Baggins is a respectable hobbit in Hobbiton, never making any trouble or having any adventures. But when a wizard and a company of dwarves invite themselves to dinner, Bilbo finds himself joining their quest from the shires of Hobbiton to the legendary Lonely Mountain, the home of a long lost treasure, and quite, possibly, a dragon.  

~~~~

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby is a really good book by the by, if anyone’s interested in this sort of thing.

[roguecompanion1812]

This is super helpful!’

[canismajors]

still so obsessed w the empty gaping hole characters that never actually appear in the story leave like god. you can see the shape of them

[girlfictions]

W.S. Merwin, Separation

[godsopenwound]

— Hinnah Mian, “The Message I’ll Never Leave You” from To Build a Home: Poetry and Prose

[emilyoracle]

Your English Teachers Lied To You: Editing Edition.

Part One (Bad Writing Rules Edition).

It took me a dozen+ years of writing to learn how to properly edit- to learn what editing actually entails. Because guess what was never explained to me?

Proofreading is not editing.

So for everyone out there whose English teachers also failed you, here’s a guide to the reality of the editing process. It’s not comprehensive, it’s just to give you a leg up if you, like me, thought “editing” meant changing a few sentences and making sure there weren’t any grammatical or spelling errors. Unfortunately it’s a little (a lot) more involved than that.

First Things First: Write Your First Draft.

Just do it. Know that no matter how hard you try to make this first draft perfect, you are still going to have to edit it. So you might as well save the editing for later and finish the story. And really think hard about starting over half-way through. If you aren’t completely changing the plot or characters, you probably don’t have to. Most everything can be fixed in the next stage:

Developmental Editing.

Look at the story as a whole. Really consider what you want from this story: how you want readers to feel as they go through it, what pacing and atmospheres are required, how you want to portray the world, and how sympathetic or real each character needs to be.

This is a crucial part of editing that I didn’t know when I was younger. You need to look at your (written!) story with intent and make conscious decisions. The first draft came from your heart, the next drafts need to come from your brain. (But if you try to make the first draft come from your brain, you’ll never finish.)

Even once your draft is written, don’t be afraid to rip it apart. It is not a finished product. Think of it as an extended outline; you still have the opportunity to change your mind about plot points, character arcs, world building, etc. Sometimes even the years-long plans that sounded great in your head turn out not-so-great on paper. Do what it takes to make the story the best version of itself, even if that means killing your darlings. (Just make sure to keep an unedited version saved in case you want to reverse any changes.) Keep in mind that you are not done writing. You might still be writing scenes, heck, entire chapters, from scratch.

If you’re having trouble seeing where improvements can be made on a first draft, that very rarely (if ever) means it is perfect and cannot be improved. This is a good time to find beta readers. If you can’t see your story objectively, listen to where and what your beta readers want to see changed and consider why. Try rewriting those scenes and characters accordingly and be open-minded to admitting it improves the story.

The “stages” of editing, by the way, are not one-time acts. You might developmental edit six times, maybe twenty, maybe only once. It depends on the story and its needs, not yours. Don’t change a few scenes and move on because you’re impatient. You want your story to be cohesive and as close as possible to its final form (not its final wording!) when you’ve finished developmental editing. Then you can move on to:

Line Editing.

If the story, as a whole, is the best version of itself, now is the time to look at its individual fibers. That is, the sentences. “Line” editing, right, who saw that coming?

Now is the time to stress about synonyms and word order. This is when you can beautify sentences, dig into that thesaurus, make sure your characters’ voices are unique and consistent.

To be fair, all the processes of editing get a bit mixed up. If you’re fixing some sentences during developmental editing, that’s fine, it’s bound to happen. If you know exactly how you want to change something, then sure, go for it while you’re looking at it. Just don’t stress about it during that stage, because that sentence or paragraph might be chopped entirely by the time you’re done. That’s why you need to be sure you are finished with developmental editing before wasting time tweaking narration and dialogue that might not exist in a few drafts.

In this stage you can finally look at the style of your writing and work on being a good writer, not just a good storyteller. Syntax, narration flow, visceral descriptions… this is the time to polish your writing to how you always imagined it’d be when you win that Pulitzer Prize or Hugo Award.

When you can feel that shiny trophy in your hand as you read your beautiful, lilting prose, now is the time for:

Copy Editing.

This is when you look at the nitty-gritty. Make sure grammar is working to your advantage (whether that means it’s “correct” or not is up to you). Check that no repeated words stand out and important words deliver the impact you want. Pay attention to whether the vocabulary and language matches the genre, world, and atmosphere.

Copy editing and line editing are often shown to be the same thing, and you can very well do both of these at the same time. Line editing as described above will always involve some form of copy editing because it’s a focus on language and style. However, personally, I believe it’s still a good idea to reread your latest draft with detail-oriented specifics in mind. And finally we can move on to:

Proofreading.

This is what you always did two minutes before submitting that essay you wrote an hour before it was due. And it is not editing. And most word processes basically do this for you now. It’s essentially just double-checking that spelling and punctuation are correct and that the manuscript is in the format necessary for whatever its next step is (if you’re querying, that it matches agent or publishing house parameters, if you’re publishing, that it fits the physical book layout, etc).

PSA: The names of these stages aren’t relevant. It’s for the sake of categorization and distinction. Different people seem to have different concepts of what developmental, line, copy editing, and proofreading are. They use different names for the same thing or group two together when others say they’re separate processes. Really, none of that matters. What matters is that you do what you need to do, regardless of what name it’s called.

-

Don’t forget to write a sentence of your story today! Thanks for reading~

[bruciemilf]

Did I daydream this, or was there a website for writers with like. A ridiculous quantity of descriptive aid. Like I remember clicking on " inside a cinema " or something like that. Then, BAM. Here's a list of smell and sounds. I can't remember it for the life of me, but if someone else can, help a bitch out <3

[bruciemilf]

I FOUND IT BITCHES

[dramono]

This is going to save me so much trouble in the future.

[mossyshadows]

'The City' C.P. Cavafy, trans. Edmund Keeley

You said: “I’ll go to another country, go to another shore,

find another city better than this one.

Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong

and my heart lies buried like something dead.

How long can I let my mind moulder in this place?

Wherever I turn, wherever I look,

I see the black ruins of my life, here,

where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.”

You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore.

This city will always pursue you.

You’ll walk the same streets, grow old

in the same neighborhoods, turn gray in these same houses.

You’ll always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere:

there’s no ship for you, there’s no road.

Now that you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner,

you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world.

[escuerzoresucitado]

[slayingfiction]

Words to use instead of ‘said’

**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.

Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on

Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged

Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on

Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered

Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped

Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped

Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed

Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered

Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged

Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned

Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted

Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined

Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted

Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped

Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased

Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered

This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!

Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!

Happy Writing :)

[annabelle--cane]

it's rotten work. especially to me especially if it's you. I'll fucking do it but christ alive.

[quimerical]

GIRL you are KILLING IT! GIRL i don’t think it’s MOVING ANYMORE. GIRL you can STOP BITING

[northmodern]

nothings wrong with caring too much. you shouldnt be ashamed of putting your whole heart into it.

[iridessence]

1 iridessence by Aries Photography in New Orleans

[soracities]

Marie Nizet, from “The Torch,” Belgian Women Poets: An Anthology, edited and trans. Renée Linkhorn and Judy Cochran (ID in ALT)