Writing Hard AF Yo

Dumping writing advice here to come back to when I feel like I’m fucking trash

[write-on-world]

[septembercfawkes]

10 Signs Your Plot is Weak (And How to Fix it)

Weak plots are a common problem when writing. Identify your plot’s weaknesses and fix them.

Weak plots are surprisingly common in unpublished writing. But if you can't identify that your plot *is* weak, then you have no chance to fix it. And of course, once you do identify that it is weak, you may have no idea *how* to fix it.

Here are 10 signs your plot is weak:

🪧 The Protagonist Lacks a Specific Goal

🪧 The Antagonist has a Vague Master Plan

🪧 The Story Keeps Circling the Same Conflicts

🪧 You Can't Answer the "So What?" Question

🪧 You’re Adding More & More Worldbuilding, Characters, Plotlines, Viewpoints, and Ideas

🪧 You're Hyperfixated on Fixing Cosmetics

🪧 The Protagonist Suffers No Costs or Only Passive Pain

🪧 You Don't Make Good on Threats (De-escalation)

🪧 It's Easy to Undo Decisions or Actions

🪧 You are Turning Context into Subtext

[so-its-a-writblr-deactivated202]

Do your fucking research.

Tumblr is not the place to learn how to become a professional writer.

Tumblr’s a gathering of tips and advice by people who claim expertise, but some of their tips and advice are not based on actual experience.

If school/college didn’t teach you how to do research, then I truly feel for you.  Because doing your own research is essential to being a competent writer.  Not only do you need to learn how to gather research, you have to learn whether the sources from which you got that information know what the fuck they’re talking about.

At the end of the day, you are the only person responsible for learning the skills and tools necessary to write well.  So learn the fucking basics:

The library is your best goddamn friend (notice how many professional writers thank librarians in their Acknowledgements). Not the Internet.  Because you don’t know who the hell assholes like me are.  Am I blowing smoke up your ass?  How can you tell?  I could be a serial killer serving a life sentence for all you know.

Go to your local library.  Go to the reference librarian.  Ask where they have books about becoming a professional writer.  If your library has a tiny selection or  none at all, you can ask the librarian to do an Inter-Libray Loan.  This is when she can get a book for you to borrow from anywhere in the world, for free.

If your area doesn’t have a library, the Internet can help as a beginning.  So can used bookstores.

You can find used books on eBay, Half Price Books, Abebooks. and used bookstores in your area.

For those without libraries, here’s a start:

The 30 Best Books On Writing and Getting Published.

One thing you need to learn as a writer is to cherry-pick information.

Some books about writing were written decades ago, before the Internet.  Their specifics about querying and submissions may be out of date (i.e. still talks about SASEs and not about the Internet).  But the book may be damn helpful in other areas.  Read them anyway.

Check the CV of the author.  If they have a track record as a traditionally published writer, preferably in your genre if you write in a particular genre, that’s what you want.  Also books by editors who have worked in traditional publishing.  If your local library doesn’t have these books, ask for an Inter-Library Loan.  Don’t buy these unless you can afford to spend money on something you may find doesn’t work for you.

Ignore self-published authors unless you want to self-publish, unless that author has been published traditionally as well.  Self-published authors can’t tell you shit about the process of finding and working with an agent.

Fanfic writers can’t help you, either.  Unless they have links to websites with their traditionally published work.

Not all books about getting published are equal.  Some are more autobiography than helpful info (looking at you, Stephen King).  Still, read them for what info you may find helpful.

If you don’t know how to do research, then for god’s sake borrow a book about it.

Do not expect other people to do your research for you.  Your career as a writer starts and ends with you.  Some people hire others to do it.  If you don’t know what good research is, then how will you know whether or not the research done for you is complete shit?

Ask your librarian for:

Guide to Literary Agents (most current edition): The Most Trusted Guide to Getting Published, by Robert Lee Brewer (editor)

Writer’s Market (most current edition).

Books you need to own (get cheap, used copies):

The Elements of Style by  William Strunk Jr.  and E. B. White. 

The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists, by Arthur Plotnik. Also for writers.

The rest you need to learn on your own.

[annarts05]

my favorite negative character traits

some of these aren’t necessarily negative in all contexts, and actually, lots would be really great to have in certain scenes, but there are plenty of situations in which these traits are seen as generally negative :)))

reblog with yours, i wanna seeeeee 

arrogant

cocky

overenthusiastic 

self-absorbed or very self-oriented

workaholic

reckless

oversensitive

dramatic

impatient

prankster/bully (when it’s taken too far, that is)

liar (especially if the lies are for someone else’s benefit)

overly selfless

self-deprecating

hot-tempered

LOUD

[em-dash-press-deactivated202410]

Don’t forget that even the best characters have their bad moments and flaws. Add a few traits like these to make them more realistic and relatable for readers!

[pigeontheoneandonly]

Pacing

I’m going to talk about good pacing.  Readers have often complimented me on my pacing, which I consider some of the highest praise I’ve received, because my best-known works tend to run quite long, and that presents a lot of challenges in this area.  So here’s what I’ve learned over my years of writing:

1. Something interesting must happen every single scene.  This doesn’t mean dramatic, or emphatically significant, or energetic.  It means interesting.  A bit of writing advice I see thrown around a lot states that every scene must advance either the character or the plot, and this isn’t a bad way of thinking about it if you have difficulty discerning what is interesting (and as long as in speculative fiction you remember to count the setting itself as a character for these purposes).  But what it really boils down to is every scene needs to engage the reader in such a way that they’re interested in learning more–whether that’s what happens next, a juicy bit of worldbuilding, or an intriguing character facet.  Make it good and leave the reader just a little shy of satisfied, all the time.

(And it should go without saying that the interesting bit can’t be totally desultory; you need every scene to be related in some way to what’s happening in your story and your plot as well.)

2. Emotional tone matters just as much as interest.  The stories I write are often fairly grim, full dark emotions and situations, fraught relationships, and the like.  But if all you ever give your reader is the same buffet, whether that’s fluffy light emotions, or closer to my end of the spectrum, they become fatigued and inured to the interest you’re attempting to create through these emotions.  It’s like eating pizza every night.  Even if you love pizza, at some point it becomes boring and a complete chore to keep eating it (or keep reading, in this analogy).  You need to vary your highs and lows.  You need to have unexpected twists of gloom or levity to contrast with your larger themes.  This, by the way, tends to mimic life, which is why it’s compelling.

3. Likewise, you need to balance action and inaction.  As a very basic formula, try to follow scenes or chapters where a great deal of action (considerable plot advancement, or even literal action like a battle) with scenes that are more reflective and cerebral.  Give your readers breathing room.  This doesn’t destroy tension; it relieves it just enough to get your readers ready for the next dose.  

4. Good pacing and good tension are co-dependent.  The word tension tends to conjure an emotive definition in most people, but I prefer to think of it the way we do in knitting: the tension of the yarn must be maintained to ensure each stitch is alike, and each row is the same length and even with the rest of the fabric.  Tension is what gives your story consistency and draws the reader along from start to conclusion.  Instead of increasing and relaxing tension to vary the story emotions, keep tension constant and add more stitches (more stuff going on) when you want the story to feel more intense.  This prevents the story from dragging in its “relaxed” or more contemplative phases.  You always want the reader to feel there is more to discover, more to explore, right up until the satisfying ending–and even then, ideally, you want them a little wistful they couldn’t spend more time here.

[w1hzz]

Alternative Vocabulary

well one method of improving your vocabulary is hoarding pinterest—

✧･ﾟ:*⋆୭.⋆｡༶⋆˙⊹

part i

src: pinterest

~rin

tumblr//instagram//pinterest: @rinnswrites

[sxptember-s-deactivated20230222]

ten things all writers should keep in mind

Always save your documents. Risk nothing. And back-up your files while you're at it!

Read your dialogue out loud.

You won't remember that story idea tomorrow. Do yourself a favor and write it down.

It's very likely the ''placeholder'' name you give your character won't be ''a placeholder name.'' You will grow attached. Sometimes it's a good thing, other times, not so much.

It's okay to have off days (every writer gets them), you will find your spark again.

Don't delete your old documents! It's normal to cringe at your old writing, but it can be quite fun, and motivating, to look back on your journey and see how far you've come.

It's OKAY to take breaks. You don't need to write 24/7!

Organize your documents. A 3000+ document folder has never done anyone any good (speaking from experience).

It doesn't matter what you write, or how good you are at it. You are just as valid as any other writer.

You deserve a pat on the back, okay? Writing's hard sometimes. Cut yourself some slack. Celebrate your achievements too, ok.

[ettawritesnstudies]

What I've Learned Writing Short Stories

What I’ve Learned Writing Short Stories

Since launching my website, getting involved with the writeblr community, and starting my newsletter, I’ve tried my hand at quite a few short stories. They’re a completely different beast from novels, much less a series, and utilize a completely distinct skill set of storytelling tools. Today I’m sharing some of the tricks I’ve learned in my experience! You can still outline – It just looks like…

View On WordPress

[sxptember-s-deactivated20230222]

Writers.

Your stories matter.

You are not inferior to other writers.

You don't have to prove your worth to anyone.

Your passion matters more than your skill.

You are allowed to openly celebrate your achievements.

You're doing great. You are making a difference. You are so important to this community.

[duckprintspress]

Planning Using the Three-Act Structure: Dystopian Novels

This is the third in a series of posts about the Three-Act structure, written by guest blogger Annabeth Lynch. Part 1: Romance Novels. Part 2: Mystery Novels.

It’s time for another crash course in writing! This time, we’ll be discussing the outline of a dystopian book. Ernest Hemingway gave my favorite description of being an author: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” So set up that typewriter and let’s start bleeding.

Before we begin breaking down this structure as it applies specifically to dystopian stories, a little background on the three-act structure. I’ve written about this structure as it applies to romance and mystery. Most Western novels are written with this structure, which is separated into three sections. First, the beginning, aptly named the Setup, is the first 25% of the story. The second act is called the Confrontation, taking up half the story, 25%-75%. The last quarter of the story, from 75% to 100%, is the Resolution. This is the novel in its most basic form. It’s a good measure of how the story needs to progress, but there’s a lot of wiggle room in such a broad system. Also, what should happen in each of these sections varies by genre, hence this series of posts. This time, we’re going to break down the acts into plot points and show approximately which events should go in each section when you’re writing a dystopian story.

Dystopian novels usually clock in at 60,000 to 120,000 words, so we’ll base the word count on the average, which is 90,000. Though dystopian novels are often turned into series, for simplicity’s sake we’ll work with the idea that this novel is a stand-alone. This same structure can be used on a larger scale for a series if desired, though - just recalculate the word counts appropriately.

The Setup

This act is about laying the foundation of the novel. This is where your hook should be, right at the beginning. Additionally, the reader should get a glimpse of the main character(s) in their average life and develop a baseline understanding of how the world works. In a dystopian novel, some aspect of society or the world is exaggerated and therefore causing problems for the characters. The main two causes of a dystopia are a man-made disaster or a natural disaster or descent of society. Readers will want to know what caused your specific dystopia to come about and how these events have affected the populous.

At the 12% mark (approximately 10,800 words in), the inciting incident should occur. After the world is established in the reader’s head, it’s time to introduce the crux of the plot. In dystopian books, because this subgenre can be used in multiple larger genres (like sci-fi or fantasy) there’s a lot of room to work with different types of stories you can tell. Regardless of which direction you choose to write in, the inciting incident should affect all the main characters and function as a call to action that they will undoubtedly rise to -  whether because they want to incite change or because there’s no other option left to them.

By 20% (18,000 words) of the way in, all the important characters should have been introduced. This goal is a little flexible because worldbuilding takes a little longer in dystopian novels, but you shouldn’t take much longer than this. The other characters will need the remaining word count to really make an impact on the plot! You don’t want to run the risk of a seeming deus-ex-machina solution by waiting to introduce a crucial character only at the critical moment.

The Setup ends at 25% (22,500 words), when the first major plot point should occur. This is where the story starts to pick up and the heroes’ journey begins. They embark on their mission or escape their bonds, or they’ve learned some hint about how to fix the world, or they or someone they know comes down with the illness plaguing the world - whatever needs to happen to move them into the next stage of the story.

The Confrontation

This is the meat of the story. It makes up roughly half of the whole novel and includes most of the build-up. Now is the time to ratchet up the tension and help the reader get their bearings in the developing story situation. This part will contain most of the important plot points except the three C’s (more on those later) since, in dystopian stories, the first act is will usually be focused on world- and character-building.

At about 37% (33,300 words) is the first pinch point, and is also usually a good excuse to give a little more backstory. Anything that connects the main character(s) to the main “problem” of the story should be brought up. Were they present when the military rolled through to institute a police state? Was their mother instrumental in the creation of the disease? What does the state of the world now mean to them, and what do they plan to do about it? Clear up some of the past for the readers!

50% (45,000 words) is the midpoint. As in most genres, this is the time for a false high or a false low. A false high would be a point in the story when it looks as though the journey is coming to end, when the characters appear on the verge of being victorious and winning the day only to be crushed under the weight of finding out they’re only halfway done. On the flip side, a false low would be when all looks hopeless until they find something or someone that will help them rise up and take their victory.

Around 62% (55,800 words) comes the second pinch point. This can take a few different forms. It could be another chance for you to reveal the backstory, like a flashback, or, if - for example - you’re writing a romantic subplot, this could be a moment that brings the couple together and increases intimacy. This pinch point should mainly further the secondary plot, whatever thing(s) your character(s) is struggling with beyond the main conflict.

The end of act two comes with the second plot point at 75% (67,500 words). This is when the stakes are raised to an all-time high. We’re approaching the end now and the characters should feel the pressure. Unfortunately for them, this is also when things should go sideways. The worst possible thing happens, but it doesn’t deter them (at least, not for long).

The Resolution

We’re almost done, and you’ve reached the action-packed, fast-paced part of the book. This is where the three C’s I mentioned earlier come in. The C’s stand for Crisis, Climax, and Conclusion.

The Crisis kicks off at roughly the 87% point (78,300 words) of the story. Having overcome the problems from the second plot point that ended the Confrontation, the characters are thrust once again into danger, whether by circumstance or by their own actions. This is also when they often learn a life lesson that will be important to overcoming their adversaries.

The turnaround from the Crisis to the Climax is quick, coming in at 90% (81,000 words). The big showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist, who is usually the perpetrator of the problem(s) plaguing the world. A large chunk of the book should be taken up by this fight, with guns blazing and all the new technology introduced in this world brought out to play.

When reading the Conclusion (the final few thousand words), readers will want to know how the world is after the perpetrator of the suffering has been removed from the picture. This can also be an epilogue if you prefer a more in-depth look at where the characters are now.

And that’s the whole book! The three-act structure outline for a dystopian story has more room for interpretation/changes because it can be applied across multiple genres and scenarios, but that just makes it more fun! Remember that while this is a general guide, you are who makes your book. No one can write the same thing the exact same way you would, and that’s what makes it special. Until next time, happy bleeding!

[taytjiefourie-deactivated202411]

Showing when writing: Emotions [part 1]

Embarrassment

blushing

fidgeting

sweating

hiding their face in their hands

wide eyes

crossing their arms around their body

stutters

stammering

shifting their weight from side to side

exaggerated movements

nervous quirks appear such as picking at their nails, playing with their hair, and rocking on their heels.

avoiding eye contact

glancing or staring at random objects

stiff smiles

scratching the back of their head or neck.

subject changing

forced laughter

Anticipation

big smiles

wetting their lips

energized

constant movement

grinning

can't concentrate

clumsiness

fidgeting

questions

Awe

frozen

wide eyes

slack jaw

harsh or erratic breathing

grinning

staring

Surprise/shock

gasping

open mouth

slack jaw

wide eyes

covering their mouth with their hands

raised eyebrows

frozen

staring

stepping back

stutters or stammers

Triumph

Tilting back head and yelling out

fist pumping in the air

Jumping

Roaring

Whooping

laughter

bright smiles

grinning

Anger/Threatening

Shaking fist

Pointing

crossed arms

glares

frowning

scowling

Stabbing with finger

Slamming fist against something

Veins throbbing

Jutting out their chin

Clenched fist

Clenched jaw

flushed face

Eyebrows lowered or furrowed

squinting

Teeth bared

Wide stance

Tight-lipped smile

Rapid breathing

Sweating

aggressive stance

Flared nostrils

Puffed chest

loud voice

Nervous

lip biting

biting nails

blinking

tears

stepping back

awkward laughter

clumsiness

dry lips

dry mouth

fidgeting

darting eyes

wrapping their arms around themselves

repeatedly folding and unfolding their arms

clutching at themselves, their hip/shoulder/stomach

drawn in/furrowed brows

avoiding eye contact

jittery

pitched voice

no appetite or nervous eating so a bigger appetite

pacing

toying with things

restless

bouncing leg

rubbing at their face

scratching

sweating trembling

if you want to support, take a look at my story - Thoraway villain

[platonic-prompts]

When writing dialogue, cut the filler

I can't remember the word my professor used for it, but the example was things like "hi, how are you" "Good, how about you?"

Basically, its boring. (his words, not mine, though i agree) There's also a point about using dialogue to give a sense of what's going on rather than giving the info in the narration itself.

"Hi, how are you," he said, sliding into the booth.

"Good. How have you been?"

"Good. How's the steak?"

"I've had better. Why are you here?"

"I was hoping you'd return a favor"

vs

"How's the steak?" he asked.

"I don't remember saying you could join me." The man stuck a cube of the tough meat into his mouth.

"I don't remember agreeing to get stabbed last year."

"You said---"

"I know what I said, and I changed my mind."

The two conversations hit the same beats, but they come across very different, with one ascribing more personality to the characters than a wooden cutout

[fuh-saw-t]

What are the pros and pitfalls of writing very manipulative/deceitful characters?

Manipulative and Decietful Characters: The Basics

Manipulative and deceitful characters are so fun to write, and can definitely elevate your story to the next level. The plot twists, the angst, the betrayal...and the potentially endless slew of ways they can be entirely messed up.

There's no right way of writing, but there are definitely things you should consider doing or avoiding when it comes to certain character and story tropes. So, let's discuss.

Pros!

To start, I'll lay down a key piece of advice I'll be referencing for the rest of the post. 

Remember your reader.

Sounds a little stupid and all too simple, right? Well, let's think about it in context as I go through the main tips I think make the best manipulative characters.

-

1) Trust

In order for your character to manipulate the other characters in your story, they need to gain their trust. Without it, their deceit will be obvious to the characters, and their inevitable betrayal will mean nothing (at least emotionally) or seem entirely avoidable.

To create trust, you can have them act as a source of information for the protagonist or other characters. If they prove to be a reliable source of information, they must be a reliable person, it could be assumed. They could even be in a mentor role, or be a simple guide to a naive character that doesn't know any better. This way, it could be easy for the manipulator to change from giving reliable advice to making the character(s) do things that, ultimately, are for the benefit of the manipulator, or some evil plan that's been cooked up since day one. Your character could overshare, too, in order to create the impression that they are open and would never keep a secret from the protagonist or other characters.

Or, you could have the manipulative character be the presumed naive one. Perhaps they go to the protagonist for help and act as if they know nothing, the other characters not noticing the ruse until it's all too late.

What's important is that your manipulative character is trusted at some point in your story. I say 'some point' purely because of how creative you can be with it. They could even be a reformed villain who only pretended to reform, or went back to their old ways. Perhaps the protagonists are the ones in the wrong, and the manipulative character is manipulating them for the good of the world.

Though, connecting to what I said before, remembering your reader is vital to using this concept of trust to its highest potential. If you really want to make it so your reader follows along with the story and experiences of your protagonist, ensure that your reader has just as much trust in the manipulator as your characters do. Have the manipulator's story unfold through the reader's eyes.

Unless, of course, your manipulator is your protagonist…

-

2) Give Signs

Twists that come out of absolutely nowhere might seem amazing, but they can often read as lazy and unsatisfying.

Lay down puzzle pieces for your readers, and your characters, to find. How, when and how often you do so entirely depends on when or if you want your readers or protagonist to discover the truth. 

Maybe the manipulator can slip up, or give a character a task to do that obviously isn't a good idea and was pre-established to result in a curse. Maybe they can tell the protagonist a lie that the protagonist begins to question as the story unfolds. It could be that you subtly hint that the manipulative character doesn't like the other, giving snide remarks, a rude nickname. You could even hint through describing the appearance or actions of the other character poorly or insultingly whilst the point of view follows the manipulator, showing that the manipulator sees the character in quite a disgusting and pathetic tone despite not actually saying it.

Keeping in mind the reader once again, it'll give your audience a mystery to invest themselves in. Even if they don't see the reveal coming, it'll promote them to reread your story and appreciate it in much more depth than ever before. Besides, real manipulation never comes overnight. People don't change that fast, and nobody's tracks are entirely clear. Your manipulative character is bound to slip up eventually, regardless of how smart, powerful, or ultimately dangerous they are. It's important for you, just as you would with any other character, to identify their faults and weak spots.

-

3) Manipulative Tactics

It's important to keep in mind how a real manipulator acts, regardless of the context and abilities present in your story.

A manipulator may try to isolate someone from familiar places or people. For example, they could convince them to leave their family or friends, either by cutting them off or moving away. This way, the character is easier to manipulate as they will have a much smaller circle of people to tell them otherwise. Their influx of information will be limited. They will also not be familiar with their surroundings, and would effectively be in the lion's den - a dangerous place to be where they have no knowledge nor control of their environment, yet the manipulator does.

A manipulator will try their best to establish a high level of trust as fast as they can. Keep in mind point 1 and 2. Does the protagonist find this suspicious? Perhaps another character does, but how is that character treated? This could again link to isolation; the manipulative character isolates the protagonist because they begin to see others, who are realising their deceit, as a threat. Maybe they manipulate the protagonist into believing that those who realised the trickery and suspicious behaviour are the real villains. Maybe that manipulation extends to the reader, too.

A manipulator will make fun of people. They'll guilt people. The blame will never truly be on them, if they can get their own way. They'll know how to play their cards right. A really good manipulator that's entertaining to read will be smart, dubious, and ready to take risks to get what they want, even if it means playing down their intelligence and true power to assume the role of a victim.

-

4) The Aftermath

If you choose to show the aftermath of the final twist - the reveal that shows the true colours of your manipulator - try to think it through. That sounds obvious, I know, but it's good to consider what could be explored.

How does your protagonist feel (or those directly manipulated)? Do they feel stupid, if they saw the signs yet held onto their trust? Or do they feel unsurprised, knowing that they were being used at the end of it all yet not having the will, energy nor heart to turn on the manipulator? Do they feel surprised, shocked and overcome with grief as they never saw a speck of a clue coming their way? 

How does your manipulator feel? There's usually two main options: the guilty and the unfeeling. The guilty feel, well, guilty. Do they regret what they did? If so, why? Do they not? That's entirely fine. Not all villains need to be sympathetic.

Don't be afraid to explore the stories and feelings of other characters, too, that could have been cut out or shunned in the process of the story. Reunions, apologies, heartfelt love confessions and horrified slandering. Let the whole cast collapse, if you see fit.

-

Pitfalls.

Now, here's what I heavily advise not to do. I'll keep this section short, considering I've already covered quite a bit.

-

1) Cardboard Characters

Your manipulative character is still a character, at the end of the day. For the love of the Lord, don't let the big twist in your whole, grand story be a flat cardboard cutout of a person. Just because they're evil and manipulative doesn't mean they can't have feelings nor experience their own take on events and situations. Give them a personality, interests and depth, just as you would anyone else. But, of course, with the mandatory touch of evil.

-

2) Blatant

What's the point in lying if you're comically bad at it? It's mistakes like these that come from not getting your reader or your characters to be convinced that your manipulative character isn't all bad. If you know they're a bad guy from the start, that's not a manipulative character. That's just your average villain.

Besides, if your character does or says things that are really obviously pointing to them being a bad person, it definitely takes some stretching to make sure your other characters don't see it. Oftentimes, poor writing like this leads to the protagonist or other characters being dumbed down more than they should be, which is a bad experience for everyone involved. Especially for the reader.

Not to say that your characters all need to be Einstein. Your manipulative character should just be convincingly smart, enough so that the characters being deceived is entirely plausible. Because, for an idiot to be the smartest person in the room, everyone else has to become the mental equivalent of warm ice.

-

3) No Reason

Linking into past points. Give a reason.

It doesn't have to be blatantly said, just at least insinuated. Your character is deceiving people...why? Why are they doing that? What is their motive, their backstory? What is their ultimate goal?

This ideally should match their actions in terms of extremity. You have a character that manipulated someone into cursing themselves and their bloodline for a thousand years? Why? Because they annoyed that character one time in a parking lot last week? Give a solid reason. Please. I'm begging you.

Also, why is the character they manipulate actually manipulated by them? If someone is vulnerable or in a vulnerable position (e.g. in urgent need of help, shelter or guidance), they're more likely to be manipulated. Of course, the manipulator could just be really convincing.

But, if you're going the last route, actually make the character convincing. Get a beta reader. Seriously. They save lives.

-

And yep, that's all the advice I can think of for now. My asks are always open for more questions and discussions like these. Thanks for likes and reblogs <3

[angelsaxis]

I love when information revealed at the end of a story recontextualizes something said or done at the beginning. Like yes queen make the story a loop let the story keep developing even though the book is closed and the credits are rolling. The story never ends it just starts over.

[em-dash-press-deactivated202410]

Helpful Creative Writing Warmups

Your brain isn't technically a muscle, but warmups can get your creativity flowing before diving back into your WIP or a new story.

Try these warmups when you need to loosen your mind and do something a little different than normal.

30 Second Stream of Consciousness Writing

Set a timer and throw every thought you have onto paper. Do they make sense? Are they just the embodiment of your anxiety? Who cares! Get it out of your head and see if that loosens up your writing abilities.

Describe Something Close to You

Look to your right. Look to your left. Pick one thing and spend a few sentences describing it. Get that creative flow working and repeat if you're enjoying it.

Write to a Song

It's easy to write a paragraph-length scene about a song with story-like lyrics, but what happens when you write whatever comes to mind while listening to low-fi? A thunderstorm? An acoustic cover? Let's find out!

Make an Object Come to Life

If the half empty water bottle next to you came to life, what would it say? Write a few sentences and move onto another object if you enjoy the exercise.

Write About How a Show/Movie Made You Feel Recently

Talk about the movie or TV show that last made you laugh, cry, get angry or feel joy. What captured your heart so deeply? Use a page to write about it. It may help connect you to the heart in your current/next story.

Pick a Different Genre and Write 50 Words

Writers can often get stuck in the same genre (I'm totally guilty of that!). Pick something wildly different and write a 50-word story in that genre. It might be trash, it might be treasure. It will definitely be a creative writing exercise.

Find a Prompt and Write About It For One Page

There are tons of great writing prompt tumblrs with fresh ideas you'd never think of otherwise. Commit one page to a prompt that catches your eye and write something just for yourself.

Rewrite Your Favorite or Least Favorite Scene

in a book or movie. maybe it's the ending, the beginning, or a scene in the middle. limit yourself to a few sentences or a page to keep it flash fiction. low stakes--already familiar with the characters, setting, conflict.

Write Without a Specific Letter

Are you up for a real challenge? Write a 10-sentence story without a letter. Any letter. It's way harder and more fun than you'd think.

---

Have fun challenging yourself and trying something new next time you're bored 💛

[crushed-pink-petals-writes]

Reading back the smut I’ve written always astounds me because it’s like bitch who told you to write that??? And HOW did I write that?? Lmaooo

[yeah-so-wait-what-ok]

A Writer's Guide To Starting

I want to write more. 

Like many would-be writers though, I’ve walked backwards from the starting line and can’t seem to move forward again. 

My thoughts aren’t especially deep and I hate taking anything too seriously. I wouldn’t call myself a comedian but I can’t resist being clever (or at least attempting it). I have fanciful daydreams but I don’t have the dedication to take pen to paper and construct a world of my own. 

So that leaves me here, writing about writing. Boring at best, pretentious at worst. 

I’ve never been one to keep a journal. I’m already thinking these thoughts in my own head, surely that’s enough. They’re my thoughts, and I keep them safely tucked away where they belong.

But to put thought to word and word to paper, and NOT have it read? Seems like a waste.

But to have someone not only READ your thoughts but to KNOW them, maybe even UNDERSTAND them? Alarming. Preposterous.

Thrilling, maybe?

Quick, let’s move on before we consider that too much.

Of course to write something that someone else might read I’d have to choose where to post it. Too long winded for Twitter. No selfies or travel pics for Instagram. A personal blog, then, like it’s the late 2000s? No, it seems too serious and I do NOT want to be taken seriously, except that I want to be taken seriously just the right amount so that I don’t feel silly but also not too committed. 

In that case there’s Tumblr, where text posts are still welcome and my words will scroll gently along a dashboard, peeking out behind a [READ MORE], largely relegated to oblivion but perhaps collecting a note or two.

So what exactly am I afraid of then?

That a major publishing house will call me tomorrow with a million dollar deal for a book idea I don’t have? That no one will read my words? That everyone I know and love will read my words and point and laugh?

That someone might see my words and think “oh, not bad…” “if only she wrote more” “if only she read more” “if only she tried”

Starting is the hardest part of any endeavor. If you start something, you might fail, and isn’t it just better to never start at all? Wouldn’t you rather fail by CHOICE, by never making the attempt, than by some unknown factor after you begin?

Surely it’s safer to stand here at the starting line, what-if-ing your way back and back and back until you can’t see the start anymore and you’re not even sure you really ever did.