A Blog For Writing

I've been working on my writing and putting my work out there. This blog is dedicated to writing.

[longlivetheoxfordfcomma]

It's not perfect by any means, but I made a watercolor painting to go with a story I'm writing <3

[dynamicsymmetry]

Good stuff.

[tarysande]

Guys, I edit professionally. This list is legit. Incorporating these suggestions before you hire an editor will save you A LOT of money. Even if you did these and nothing else, you’d see significant overall improvement in your work.

That said, you don’t have to overthink these things when you’re writing a first draft. If you write, “she said angrily” in a first draft, you can always revisit the phrasing in a second draft. I mention this because overthinking style can lead to a loss of momentum, and losing momentum is why so many people never finish a draft. Give yourself permission to write fast, write messy or ugly, and edit your draft into beauty later.

[ginnyzero]

Most of this list is second draft stuff. (Another editor here.) Your first draft is cake ingredients. Let them be messy. The two biggest problems I see in indie published books is people NOT knowing where their story begins and massive amounts of exposition aka info dumping especially since I read mostly SFF.

So my controversial opinion (that I didn’t have 6 to 8 months ago) is IF you are writing a first book and have NOT written/published before. It is extremely important to hire an experienced editor in the development stages to help you find/learn these things and not rely on “well established author does it.” Get that first draft out, hire a dev editor (not a line or copy editor) to help you with that second draft.

This can also be needed if you’re transitioning from fanfiction to original fiction. But it will honestly depend on the strength of the fandom writing in general. (I’d call it case by case.)

Once you gain experience and better instincts, you can scrap your dev editor. But you’re never going to stop having editors completely. (Seriously, don’t be Rowling folks. Or Meyer. Or Rice. Or maybe GRRM.)

[becketted]

there is a lot of bs going around these days so let me repeat this:

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPEND HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO HAVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT PROFESSIONALLY EDITED IF YOUR GOAL IS TO SEND IT TO PUBLISHERS OR LITERARY AGENTS

Anyone tell you you need to have your manuscript professionally edited previous to submission to publishers or agents.

Publishers will do the editing on the manuscript (for free! this is important) once they have bought your manuscript. They don’t need submissions that are professionally edited. And agents KNOW this. If a literary agent sees a manuscript that shows promise but need some work they WILL WORK with you on it.

I cannot stress this enough:

Don’t pay loads of money to get your manuscript professionally edited if you are going to submit it to publishers or literary agents

If a manuscript doesn’t work not even the best editor can do much about it, you will waste money and your book won’t be more readable to publishers/agents

Never PAY TO GET PUBLISHED. If a publisher says they want to publish your book but they need to professionally edit it and they want to charge you money for the edits, RUN. This is not a real publisher, it’s a “vanity press” aka they are trying to scam you.

Seriously, I’m a freelance editor so it’s not in my best interest to tell you not to hire professional editors, but again, if you are planning to submit to a publisher or a literary agent. 

When should you hire a professional editor for your writing:

If you are planning on self-publishing. When you self-publish you are the publisher, and any decent publisher should get their books professionally edited and proofread.

If you are not sure where your manuscript is at or how much work it needs and you want a professional beta reader - but DON’T pay to edit the whole thing in detail

Maybe, MAYBE If you want to submit a short story to a contest or a magazine and you want it really polished. Magazines don’t have time/resources to do big edits on their pieces so if they receive a sub that might need a lot of editing to be up to standards they might pass on it

But again, PUBLISHERS AND LITERARY AGENTS DON’T NEED PROFESSIONALLY EDITED SUBMISSIONS. They know the publisher will do final edits, proofreading and polishing. They don’t need to received perfectly polished submissions. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to edit your own manuscript (you do!) and make sure it’s in the best possible shape you can manage. It means you ABSOLUTELY do not have to spend thousands on getting it professionally edited prior to submitting it.

[insert-writing-blog-name]

How new WIPs are born:

[thatdisasterauthor]

Don't call me out like this.

[michaelbjorkwrites]

Unforgettable: How to write imagery your readers will always remember

A baby sleeps in a bundle of blankets on the step of number four, Privet Drive. He has black hair, and on his forehead is a lightning bolt scar.

Rain falls upon the streets of Derry, Maine – and in the darkness of a gurgling storm drain, there lurks a clown with a white-painted face and a toothy smile.

Just outside the village of Market Chipping (where a 17-year old hatter is having her youth cursed away), a large moving castle navigates the horizon.

A boy with a lightning bolt scar.

A killer clown in the gutter.

A castle that moves across the countryside.

These are some of the images that come to mind when we think about iconic stories like Harry Potter,  It,  Howl’s Moving Castle, and others. They’re locked into our memories, helping elevate their source material above the swirling sea of competing stories.

Your stories can stand out the same way.

If you learn to craft unforgettable imagery.

What makes an unforgettable image?

I don’t think anyone could identify every quality that makes an image memorable, but in my experience, such imagery is often:

Unique

Dissonant

Emotional

Prominent

Unique.

For an image to be unforgettable, it needs to stand out – and that means being unique in the context of the story’s genre and surrounding stories. For example, we’ve read about many boy wizards and chosen ones, but how many of them have had a lightning bolt scar?

Dissonant.

Part of what makes readers sit up and pay attention is when there’s something odd or wrong about an image. Scars, for example, are rarely a particular shape, let alone like a lightning bolt. Clowns most certainly do not belong in storm drains (killer clowns themselves are a dissonant mirror of what clowns are intended to be). And castles don’t roam freely across the countryside. That dissonance helps catch and hold the reader’s attention.

Emotional.

To be remembered, images need to create an emotional reaction, which helps solidify their place in the story and in the reader’s mind. Harry Potter’s scar, for example, calls up various emotions throughout the series, ranging from curiosity, to sadness, to a sense of foreboding; the clown in a gutter elicits terror; and Howl’s moving castle inspires a sense of wonder.

Prominent.

If an image appears briefly or holds no importance to the overarching story, it will be easily forgotten. Memorable images, in contrast, tend to be either repeatedly featured as set pieces (such as Harry’s scar or Howl’s moving castle), or pivotal enough to be remembered or called back to throughout the story (such as Georgie’s murder at the storm drain, which ignites the plot of It and becomes a fixation of guilt for his older brother, Bill).

Unique. Dissonant. Emotional. Prominent.

Check, check, check, and…. check.

Now how do you actually write this kind of imagery?

Tips for writing unforgettable imagery.

Trust your gut. The 4 qualities listed above are helpful to keep in mind, but in the end, these images will often arise naturally as you write, guided by moments of instinct and inspiration. So trust your gut, and go down rabbit holes – even if (especially if) it gets weird. Leave all doubting for later drafts.

Write with specificity. Vague language rarely yields memorable descriptions, so push yourself toward specific nouns and verbs. This will increase your chances of stumbling across a key detail to elevate your image.

Don’t give your image too many distracting bells and whistles. Give your image a clear focal point. For example, Harry’s Potter’s visual focal point is his scar. He has black hair (from his father) and green eyes (from his mother), which are important details, but they never compete with the scar. If Harry also had a glowing, magical aura, for example, it would dilute the memorability of the scar, because the aura would fight for our attention. (Think of your image’s focal point as the tent-pole detail I describe here.)

Don’t pin all your hopes on one image. As I said in Tip #1, memorable images will often arise organically rather than intentionally, so don’t be afraid to plant a lot of seeds. Pack your story with all the odd, surprising, memorable images that come to you! Then while revising, elevate the best of them and trim back the clutter.

In summary? When trying to write memorable imagery: get weird, be specific, give your best details room to breathe, and try to write a bunch of memorable images while drafting to increase your chances of finding one that sparks.

Now go write something unforgettable.

— — —

Hey there! My name’s Mike, and I’m a writer & copywriter with an MFA in fiction. For more tips on how to hone your craft and nurture meaningful stories, follow my blog.

[queen-of-the-merry-men]

When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful. 

Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends. 

Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them. 

Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger. 

Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made. 

[saeronovace]

[mj-spooks]

This works the other way around, too! Don’t be afraid to give your characters strengths that tend to bite them in the ass! No trait is all good or all bad. Everything exists on a spectrum and nothing exists in a vacuum. Being open-minded can make you gullible, being strong or smart can make you arrogant, being honest can make you an easy target for getting information from, etc.

[sirobvious]

Fantasy writing tip:

Ducking and jumping in sword fights doesn’t work. You’re not going to be fast enough to get low enough for the duck, and you’re not going to jump high enough for the jump to work, and also horizontal “duckable” and “jumpable” cuts are pretty rare in sword fights anyway. Most swings are going to be diagonal because it makes them easier to recover from and harder to dodge.

Dodging is actually slower than parrying with your blade or crossguard anyway in most cases, but if your footwork is good, a dodge backward or to the left or right is a much safer and more effective means of dodging.

There are effective things you can do when crouching low, but these are usually combined with a high guard to protect the head instead of relying purely on the duck to keep you safe.

[write-edit-rinse-repeat]

When you’re not sure if your revision fixes the problem or just creates new ones

[theliteraryarchitect]

Writers: If you enjoyed writing it, that’s enough. Writing can be an end in itself. It doesn’t have to be “good” by anyone else’s standards. It doesn’t have to be published or validated in any way. Delight in putting words on the page. Delight in falling down pretty rabbit holes that might not “make sense” to others. IT’S OKAY TO WRITE JUST TO WRITE, just to have fun, just to please yourself. This is your permission slip. Go forth and create nonsense. I’m cheering for you. xo

[somewhatstacey]

An inspiration to us all

Patreon | Instagram | Goddammitstacey.com

[kittydesade]

When I find myself in times of trouble, Space Mom Carrie comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom

Fuck ‘em.

[writingadvice1]

60 Awesome Search Engines for Serious Writers

[referenceforwriters]

Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore. Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print. Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful search applications that are great from making writing a little easier and more efficient.

Professional

Find other writers, publishers and ways to market your work through these searchable databases and search engines.

Litscene: Use this search engine to search through thousands of writers and literary projects, and add your own as well.

Thinkers.net: Get a boost in your creativity with some assistance from this site.

PoeWar: Whether you need help with your career or your writing, this site is full of great searchable articles.

Publisher’s Catalogues: Try out this site to search through the catalogs and names of thousands of publishers.

Edit Red: Through this site you can showcase your own work and search through work by others, as well as find helpful FAQ’s on writing.

Writersdock: Search through this site for help with your writing, find jobs and join other writers in discussions.

PoetrySoup: If you want to find some inspirational poetry, this site is a great resource.

Booksie.com: Here, you can search through a wide range of self-published books.

One Stop Write Shop: Use this tool to search through the writings of hundreds of other amateur writers.

Writer’s Cafe: Check out this online writer’s forum to find and share creative works.

Literary Marketplace: Need to know something about the publishing industry? Use this search tool to find the information you need now.

Writing

These helpful tools will help you along in the writing process.

WriteSearch: This search engine focuses exclusively on sites devoted to reading and writing to deliver its results.

The Burry Man Writers Center: Find a wealth of writing resources on this searchable site.

Writing.com: This fully-featured site makes it possible to find information both fun and serious about the craft of writing.

Purdue OWL: Need a little instruction on your writing? This tool from Purdue University can help.

Writing Forums: Search through these writing forums to find answers to your writing issues.

Research

Try out these tools to get your writing research done in a snap.

Google Scholar: With this specialized search engine from Google, you’ll only get reliable, academic results for your searches.

WorldCat: If you need a book from the library, try out this tool. It’ll search and find the closest location.

Scirus: Find great scientific articles and publications through this search engine.

OpenLibrary: If you don’t have time to run to a brick-and-mortar library, this online tool can still help you find books you can use.

Online Journals Search Engine: Try out this search engine to find free online journal articles.

All Academic: This search engine focuses on returning highly academic, reliable resources.

LOC Ask a Librarian: Search through the questions on this site to find helpful answers about the holdings at the Library of Congress.

Encylcopedia.com: This search engine can help you find basic encyclopedia articles.

Clusty: If you’re searching for a topic to write on, this search engine with clustered results can help get your creative juices flowing.

Intute: Here you’ll find a British search engine that delivers carefully chosen results from academia.

AllExperts: Have a question? Ask the experts on this site or search through the existing answers.

Reference

Need to look up a quote or a fact? These search tools make it simple.

Writer’s Web Search Engine: This search engine is a great place to find reference information on how to write well.

Bloomsbury Magazine Research Centre: You’ll find numerous resources on publications, authors and more through this search engine.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus: Make sure you’re using words correctly and can come up with alternatives with the help of this tool.

References.net: Find all the reference material you could ever need through this search engine.

Quotes.net: If you need a quote, try searching for one by topic or by author on this site.

Literary Encyclopedia: Look up any famous book or author in this search tool.

Acronym Finder: Not sure what a particular acronym means? Look it up here.

Bartleby: Through Bartleby, you can find a wide range of quotes from famous thinkers, writers and celebrities.

Wikipedia.com: Just about anything and everything you could want to look up is found on this site.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Find all the great philosophers you could want to reference in this online tool.

Niche Writers

If you’re focusing on writing in a particular niche, these tools can be a big help.

PubGene: Those working in sci-fi or medical writing will appreciate this database of genes, biological terms and organisms.

GoPubMd: You’ll find all kinds of science and medical search results here.

Jayde: Looking for a business? Try out this search tool.

Zibb: No matter what kind of business you need to find out more about, this tool will find the information.

TechWeb: Do a little tech research using this news site and search engine.

Google Trends: Try out this tool to find out what people are talking about.

Godchecker: Doing a little work on ancient gods and goddesses? This tool can help you make sure you have your information straight.

Healia: Find a wide range of health topics and information by using this site.

Sci-Fi Search: Those working on sci-fi can search through relevant sites to make sure their ideas are original.

Books

Find your own work and inspirational tomes from others by using these search engines.

Literature Classics: This search tool makes it easy to find the free and famous books you want to look through.

InLibris: This search engine provides one of the largest directories of literary resources on the web.

SHARP Web: Using this tool, you can search through the information on the history of reading and publishing.

AllReaders: See what kind of reviews books you admire got with this search engine.

BookFinder: No matter what book you’re looking for you’re bound to find it here.

ReadPrint: Search through this site for access to thousands of free books.

Google Book Search: Search through the content of thousands upon thousands of books here, some of which is free to use.

Indie Store Finder: If you want to support the little guy, this tool makes it simple to find an independent bookseller in your neck of the woods.

Blogging

For web writing, these tools can be a big help.

Technorati: This site makes it possible to search through millions of blogs for both larger topics and individual posts.

Google Blog Search: Using this specialized Google search engine, you can search through the content of blogs all over the web.

Domain Search: Looking for a place to start your own blog? This search tool will let you know what’s out there.

OpinMind: Try out this blog search tool to find opinion focused blogs.

IceRocket: Here you’ll find a real-time blog search engine so you’ll get the latest news and posts out there.

PubSub: This search tool scours sites like Twitter and Friendfeed to find the topics people are talking about most every day.

[brynwrites]

Writing Relationships: Enemies to Lovers.

And other ‘hate to love’ relationships.

These types of relationships can be some of the most interesting and enjoyable, both to read and write, because they show us many sides of the same characters and the growth from a hatred to mixed feelings and finally to genuine love and acceptance is often heartwarming to experience. But relationships like also require finesse to portray in a believable, healthy manner.

Before we begin, some ground rules: 

1. Stay away from abuse.

A hate to love relationship is not an “abuse to love” relationship, and none of these tips are aimed toward writing such a thing. Check this list for things to keep out of your healthy end-game relationships.

2. These characters need to be ‘ship-able’ already!

If your character would not naturally end up in the end-game relationship, you’ve got a problem. The character’s ability to be friends – shared interests, enjoyment of each other’s company, comparability in communication – is crucial for the transition from hate to love.

Now then, how do we set up this hate to love relationship? 

1. Examine why the characters hate each other.

There’s a slew of different reasons two characters might start out hating each other, including (but certainly not limited to):

They come from opposing sides of a war, feud, or have some other group-oriented dislike.

They have very bad first impressions of each other.

They already hold distasteful misconceptions about each other based on what trusted companions have told them.

One (or both) of them are acting or believing something the other has good reason to hate. 

In order to pull off the first part of the relationship – the hate – you have to both have a reason for the characters to hate each other and convince the reader that the reason is a good reason. 

Unless you’re writing in omnipresent, you’re telling the story through your character’s eyes. No matter how good their current ‘enemy’ may be on the inside, the pov character won’t be looking for that goodness. They’ll see all the flaws and turn offs they anticipate the character to have, and this will likely (hopefully) effect them on an emotional level the reader can connect with.

2. What needs to change for this hate to be repealed?

Keep reading

[blackthornkisses]

author: writes about intriguing characters who all coexist in the storyline perfectly, bringing about a sequence of events

author: adds a dark haired boy with a dark past, bad manners and questionable motives

me: i’ll take the beautiful mean one

[mbrainspaz]

I DON’T LIKE THIS SCENE AND I DON’T WANNA WRITE IT AAAAAAAAH

[mbrainspaz]

I’m so stuck with this scene I’m trying to write that I accidentally vacuumed my house, did the dishes, cleaned my kitchen, cleaned my bathroom, scrubbed some walls, brushed my fluffy dog, tossed out some clutter, installed some hooks for my pans, made tea, and talked to a friend on the phone for an hour.

[mbrainspaz]

Hey that sounds fu— wait

[writingdotcoffee]

Writing Submissions for Magazines: How to Submit Writing to a Magazine

In this post, we look at how to handle writing submissions for magazines. Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, learn how to submit writing to a magazine.

[ren-c-leyn]

You, writer, yes you, you have the capability to write someone’s new favorite story, and don’t let your goblin brain tell you otherwise. Keep going, that person/those people are probably wandering bookstores as we speak with blank expressions because they can’t find your story yet.

[wordsnstuff]

Hii!! I just want to ask if you have any tips or resources in writing character relationships?? Like I want to build a relationship between two characters in a relatively short time but i dont want it to feel rushed,,,,thank you so much!! Your blog has helped me alot!!

I have quite a few resources and advice on the topic of building romantic relationships in a story, so I’ve linked some relevant resources below that you might find useful:

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Creating A Love Interest For An Introvert

 Writing Opposites Who Attract

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

Describing Heartbreak

 Developing Complicated Plots Around Characters

Writing Great Fanfiction

How To Write The Perfect Kiss

On Romantic Subplots

Resources For Romance Writers

Tips On Writing Skinny Love

Guide To Writing Friends To Lovers

Guide To Writing Enemies To Lovers

Guide To Writing Faded Love

Resources For Writing YA Fiction/Romance

Guide To Writing Will-They-Won’t-They

Rivalry vs. Abuse

Guide To Writing Forbidden Love

20 Mistakes To Avoid in YA/Romance

Balancing Fluff and Conflict

 Best Friends To Lovers Resources

How to develop an Emeies-To-Lovers story

—

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