Writing Tips, Snippets, And More!

Ask Box: Open he/him | I follow back on my main blog, @fragrant stars Just someone with a vivid imagination and a love for writing

[luulapants]

Nothing more cringe-worthy than a story where the writer clearly thinks they're making some broad statement about the human condition in the modern day but actually it's just been too long since they left their specifically dysfunctional community, which is ultimately irrelevant to most of society. And 95% of the time that community is Hollywood.

[luulapants]

[writer who got his big break and moved to LA about 10 years ago] wow has anyone noticed how everyone has become an inauthentic, self-obsessed social climber in the past decade?

[oddsconvert]

🥰 Whumpee who lets themselves be restrained 🥰

When they obediently cross their arms behind their back, and don't fight back as Whumper ties them together, even as a lone tear slips down their cheek. When they outstretch their wrists for Whumper to lock the cuffs around. Slacking their jaw and opening their mouth for the gag, or closing their eyes as the blindfold slips around their eyes...

...Yeah 🫶

[the-floral-skeleton]

Can we just say abuser again. “Narcissist” this “narc abuse” that, and then 90% of the time people just describe regular abuser behavior.

“It’s a classic tactic for narcissists to take away something you care about and then give it back and expect gratitude” you mean it’s a classic tactic for abusers. That is not some special strategy that only narcissists use, it’s literally just manipulation. Manipulation is a classic abusive behavior.

I am begging people to understand that abuse is a pattern of behaviors that anyone can fall into, not some special separate group that you can neatly label and separate yourself from.

[bodhimcbodeface]

Do u ever read a friend’s fic and it’s like holy shit how do you consider me qualified to talk to you?

[wanderbythewayside]

No

Y’all need better self-esteem

[wanderbythewayside]

Alright I have been enabled so I’m gonna say somethings.

Fatalistic sarcasm is a thing, however, it usually hides deep feelings of insecurity, and whether you consciously recognize this or not, it validates them. Seriously, I used to constantly make jokes about how other people’s work was better than mine, and it did nothing for my self-esteem, it was a tool to deflect from my own feelings of inferiority and it actively worked against me thinking critically about my own and other people’s work. If it was a joke I could put myself down instead of analyzing why someone’s work was better and trying to incorporate that into my own

As someone who took creative writing courses I was constantly surrounded by other brilliant people, if I hung my head in shame every time I read something as good or better than mine I never would have lifted it. 

As someone who has watched a lot of writers with very good idea’s crash and burn I mean it when I say you either develop a healthy sense of respect for your own work or you stop writing. 

There’s three things I really wish more people consider

1. Do you think their work is better because it’s a different style, one that you like? There’s an element to ‘the grass is greener on the other side’, I have seen people work in some amazing styles that I wished to god I could replicate, some I managed, some I never did, but there’s nothing wrong with either. having a different style Is Not the same as having a bad style, each has their own strengths and you can admire one without putting yours down

2. Knowing someone who is a better writer is a blessing and if they knew you were using their work to bring yourself down they would not be happy, mooch off that friend, analyze their work, ask them to edit your shit, as long as you’re not annoying them be shameless about it. the best thing creative writing did for me was give me the confidence to ask people to critic my work and shamelessly better each other for that sharing 

3. People need to normalize being confident in their work, the quality of your work has literally nothing to do with your worth as a person, the quality of your work has nothing to do with your worth as a writer. You can write something really shitty and the only thing I’d say to you is that your trying and I respect you for that

[januariat]

this is true for art too btw

[quietwingsinthesky]

i do think there should be more stories and shows and stuff about guys falling in love with butch women actually, i think that’d be a good thing. and not ‘this is as butch as twitter can handle’, i mean butch as can fucking be without apology, and making those boys weak in the knees about it. i think it’s great actually to have f/m romances that exist to break gender norms, too. i think it sucks that the only mainstream het romances that exist are either about women who are already feminine or with women who are just a little too scarily masculine and have to be fixed into being girlier. that’s shit.

[quietwingsinthesky]

it’s not like. taking away from queer people if you let “the straights” have some genderfuckery in their romance, too. that’s good, actually, the blurring of gender roles and performance and getting better understandings of your own sexuality is good for everyone. and it’s really fucking weird if you think that mainstream “het” romances shouldn’t feature women who are “too masculine” because that’s only allowed for queer people, somehow.

[irawhiti]

btw it's not spelled "Maori", it's Māori. the tohutō (the line above the vowel) is important for the pronunciation of the word. if you don't have the tohutō on your keyboard (it should be on your phone keyboard at least), it's "Maaori" as the tohutō lengthens the vowel it's placed over. never Maori, preferably Māori but Maaori in a pinch. thanks

[aphel1on]

"character doing a c+ job of breaking the cycle of abuse" is such a crunchy dynamic forever. what if i'm giving my all to give you a better life than i had and i'm succeeding but "better" just isn't quite enough. what if my blind spots and deeply ingrained trauma and inexperience mean that you will be indelibly scarred by me despite my best efforts. what if my abuser's influence still bleeds through at times because i know nothing else. what if i go so far in the opposite direction to avoid it that i hurt you in ways i couldn't have anticipated. what if my undeniable love and unforgivable shortcomings came part and parcel with each other. what if your love and gratitude and resentment and pain came part and parcel too. what if we both knew you deserved better but i was all you had. what if we had to move forward and reckon with that. what then

[unusual-suspects]

x

[vrrue]

cataloguing sensations

[freakoutgirl]

Guy horror directors: and then we will cut to the scariest image of all.... Naked old woman with sagging boobs

[freakoutgirl]

#This misses the point and focuses on the woman's looks and not the myth of the Crone which is sad bc the Crone is a TERRIFYING figure#I mean you have to be semi educated in occult to understand symbolism in art so not everyone is going to get it#But the Crone is an ancient figure who represents Time and the inevitability of your actions coming to light#That she is an old woman is less about misogyny and more about how dark and terrifying The Feminine is in esoterica#The Feminine is extremely metal and her saggy boobs aren't about her attractiveness but about her refusal and inability to nurture#She will have no mercy on your ass#dweebs w a gender studies 101 degree make portrayals of the Dark Feminine about misogyny and think they're saying something revolutionary

this is so funny. "oh yeah it's just using the image of an old, unattractive woman as unnurturing which has existed since ancient times which has never been historically misogynistic and YOU'RE the loser for thinking otherwise. btw i'm putting this in the tags because i don't actually want to interact with you but i want to prove myself as more superior and intelligent to my followers xoxo"

[carys-the-ninth]

Movies should be rated like gymnastics. First score is the difficulty (how complex is what you're trying to pull off?) second score is the execution. This would let us separate dumb movies that are competently made from interesting movies that don't quite stick the landing. Anyway. Another great idea from ME

[lew-basnight]

I like this. You get big points for a big swing, you were really going for a vast engaging story that captivates the viewer. Your technical execution, however, resulted in the movie Southland Tales, so you get 9/2

[sidneysheldon]

Sidney Sheldon, “Rage of Angels”

[diasdelfuego]

the thing about art is that sometimes you'll be moved to tears by stuff that is not very good

[unusual-suspects]

seven ravens, artist unknown

[fragrant-stars]

Glasses Folks, a Question for You!

Glasses Usually Dirty

Glasses Usually Clean

I Don't Wear Glasses

Voting ended onNov 7, 2025

[veronicaleighauthor]

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

When we were children, my sister had private music lessons at her violin teacher’s house. I only visited there once, but I still remember that afternoon. The teacher had an artificial pond in her yard, a large beautiful thing with lily pads and plant life. And in the pond, there were goldfish. I had never seen such enormous goldfish. 

I spent several minutes just staring at them (and trying to convince them to bite my fingers.) When my sister’s violin lesson ended, her teacher came out to the yard and explained that these goldfish were the same small creatures that were often unfortunately sold in plastic bags at state fairs. They were only about two inches long apiece, when she bought them and put them in the new, empty pond. In essence, they were like every goldfish I had seen before, but they had been given a much larger, much richer environment in which to flourish. As a result, they had grown into some of the most remarkable, vibrant creatures my twelve-year-old self had ever met with. All because of a pond. 

Funny what lessons children remember. My sister doesn’t play the violin anymore, but that was the first time I caught a glimpse of the overwhelming extent to which it matters, the way the world treats us.

[barin-mclegg]

I think this might be the best post of yours I’ve ever read

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

insulting on behalf of the MANY clown husbandry posts i have gifted to you over the years