RL Cole

reflections on writing, story, and the lifelong effort of cultivating joy in the creative process.

[rl-cole]

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[valentinedagger]

if i were to host a tumblr community for webfiction authors, is that something anyone else would benefit from?

my initial thought is that it would be nice to have somewhere to network and socialize away from fan interaction--you know, somewhere to swap platform tips, talk about audience building, share writing advice, etc. personally i'd appreciate a space to talk about the web dev aspect and connect with other people who are navigating hosting their own writing on their own site. it would also be great to have a space for new serial authors to network with authors who've been in the scene for a while already--i know i've been struggling to find my footing for a while due to a lack of spaces for authors to connect and learn from each other.

my only thing is, i wouldn't want to gatekeep based on the contents of someone's writing. i dislike the idea of a space that has sentiments like "your prose isn't good enough to sit with us" or "your writing is too dark/immoral/triggering/etc to sit with us." the point wouldn't be to advertise or share your writing itself, but to connect with other authors. i would probably consider the contents of someone's writing irrelevant, and only moderate based on how they conduct themselves as a real person--for the measure that i even want to moderate, which i really don't for the most part, because i think a group of dedicated authors can conduct themselves with some modicum of decorum and kindness to others without me telling them exactly how to interact, and i really do not want to mediate interpersonal drama under any circumstances.

the other problem is, i don't see a way to run this community other than it being invite-only, but i think that's a fairly small problem in the grand scheme of things. i believe tumblr is rolling out the ability for multiple moderators to send invites, so it would not have to fall entirely on me.

even with those limitations, i'd still consider it a pretty good resource in the long run. consider this an interest check: if you're an author of prose webfiction, especially serials, would you want to join something like this?

[nervebynerve]

“The daily routine of most adults is so heavy and artificial that we are closed off to much of the world. We have to do this in order to get our work done. I think one purpose of art is to get us out of those routines. When we hear music or poetry or stories, the world opens up again. We’re drawn in — or out — and the windows of our perception are cleansed, as William Blake said. The same thing can happen when we’re around young children or adults who have unlearned those habits of shutting the world out.”

— Ursula K. Le Guin 

[marciaillust]

[just-a-jumbled-writer]

[eileniessa]

I need to have this motto written all over my desk

[16woodsequ]

BREAKING NEWS: Writer discovers for the millionth time that they can write whatever they want. Join us now to see if the lesson will stick.

[theliteraryarchitect]

I don’t know who needs to hear this but it’s okay for writing to be a HOBBY that you do because you enjoy, and that you don’t want to do when you’re not enjoying it. No one’s up in the business of knitters telling them they have to be willing to SUFFER and SWEAT or they’ll NEVER FINISH THAT SWEATER and they can’t expect good things to come to them. I don’t know why our current culture around writing is so intense, but I’m here to support your casual, relaxing writing habit. If people can glue pompoms together or knit a scarf or watch hours of streaming shows with their spare time there’s absolutely no reason writers can’t waste time writing just for pleasure, without any expectation that they’re going to Achieve something Amazing and Important or make a bunch of money or whatever.

[anonymousalchemist]

ykno the thing about poetry is that 99% of it is bullshit and the other 1% will cut you like a material knife, and for every person that 1% is a different section of the whole. this is probably true about all art.

[annabelle--cane]

"tumblr doesn't have an algorithm so likes are WORTHLESS they do NOTHING" well actually likes tell me that people liked my post. they have worth because they show me people saw my post and enjoyed it. that's still interaction even if it doesn't give an extra boost to make Number Go Up even more. yeah I generally get more out of written feedback in tags/replies but likes are still Something, they aren't people telling me "fuck you I'm not sharing your post" they're people telling me "hehe I give your post little a like as a treat."

[havingrevelations-deactivated20]

shaking six year old me by the shoulders YOU WERE RIGHT. YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT LOVE AND ABOUT FAIRNESS AND ABOUT SHARING IS CARING. YOU WERE RIGHT. THE ADULTS DON’T KNOW ANY MORE ABOUT TRUTH THAN YOU DO. KEEP BELIEVING IN THE FAIRIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE GARDEN. NOTHING IS “JUST THE WAY IT IS”. I AM SORRY THEY EVER CONVINCED YOU TO FEEL SHAME. YOU ARE REAL AND A PART OF THIS WORLD. YOU WERE RIGHT.

[theplottery]

Stop telling your readers everything

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see new writers making.

When you start a new project, you’re so excited to get into the story and have your readers get to know your characters, that you overshare.

You tell them way too much, ahead of time, and you likely end up spoiling your plot or upcoming character developments.

The truth is — your readers need to know very little in order to be intrigued by your project.

Striking a good balance in telling them just enough can be really difficult, and it’s a skill you will develop the more you write.

It’s also something that becomes a lot easier when you write your second draft, rather than the first.

The absolute best way not to overshare is by placing yourself firmly in your character’s shoes.

Think about:

their current external situation

what’s going on around them

how that’s making them feel internally

how it might tie into their deeper flaw

what other thoughts it might relate to and bring up organically

If a character is simply eating an apple and they suddenly tell the reader how they had a bad break-up ten years ago, there is no logical explanation as to why you chose to share this information right now.

How do you fix that?

If their break-up happened underneath an apple tree, then you suddenly have a link between their external situation and their thoughts.

Always search for links in your narrative to share important information.

And don’t assume your reader needs explicit information to deduce what’s happening.

Sometimes it’s so much stronger to hint at things and leave them up to interpretation. It creates more intrigue for your readers and keeps them flipping those pages to see if they were right.

Did you hear my first book is coming out soon? It’s my writing craft guide! You can pre-order it now through the [link here] or below!

[a-really-hot-caterpillar]

One of the best writing advice I have gotten in all the months I have been writing is "if you can't go anywhere from a sentence, the problem isn't in you, it's in the last sentence." and I'm mad because it works so well and barely anyone talks about it. If you're stuck at a line, go back. Backspace those last two lines and write it from another angle or take it to some other route. You're stuck because you thought up to that exact sentence and nothing after that. Well, delete that sentence, make your brain think because the dead end is gone. It has worked wonders for me for so long it's unreal

[jezifster2]

You know. Reading is important. Because I'm like always trying to make every line I write this groundbreaking mindfucking art but like. A book is 90% just saying what happened. "I hugged him around the waist." "The chair was brown and overstuffed." "I woke up alone." Etc etc. Like normal ass lines. I just keep comparing my boring, necessary to set a scene lines, with famous authors' absolute best lines and like.... every line doesn't have to shatter the earth. Sometimes someone just sits in a chair and the lines that wreck you come later, one at a time, here and there. It's alright.

[foxys-fantasy-tales]

This is super common and I wish we were taught when we begin to write that those quoted lines are also in a sea of the same sort of setup we obsess over not being 'good enough'. I saw multiple people drop out of writing courses over this in college. Sure, sometimes you need a better way to describe something prevalent or to pinpoint an emotion, but if EVERYTHING was written in that sort of tone for a whole book it would prove utterly exhausting to read.

[pens-swords-stuff]

Also, if every single line in the book was hard-hitting and mindblowing, then it wouldn't be memorable because it would be drowned out.

The best lines are famous because they stand out.

[redportrait]

me, having deeply fallen out of the practice of writing poetry: I can’t write any more, I am now a Talentless Hack

the voice of my 11th grade journalism/12th grade creative writing teacher who rly did know everything: if you stop writing for a while the words will build up and stagnate. to clear the water, you will have to open the dam completely, and accept the fact that what initially comes out will not be palatable

[m-s-harris]

This. This is so true. Starting again is more important than what you actually write. You are rusty. You’ll build up momentum again. All you need to do is start.

[wildestlovers]

embarrassment is the cost of entry.

if you aren't willing to look like a foolish beginner, you'll never become a graceful master.

[mornington-the-crescent]

Sucking at something is the first step to not sucking at something.

[saintsebastiensbf]

ur early 20s are about being obsessed with kindness and mary oliver and seasonal fruits and recreating comfort foods you ate as a child and learning how to love and crying because you have no choice but to live the life before you and finding god on the bus back from the grocery store

[spookyspeks]

My friend said this but this is a very important point that yall need to understand.