#agreeeanswers

[aureateink]

Tips on writing a book?

you've opened the flood gates, please bear with me

writing a book is one of the most challenging and rewarding things a person can do. there will be days where it's the most fun you've ever had, and there will be days where you'd rather smash your fingers with a hammer than write another word.

it's all part of the process. It's a labor of love; labor being the key word. It is as mechanical as it is creative.

that being said, here are my trade secrets:

REMINDER!! EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. TAKE WHAT RESONATES. LEAVE WHAT DOESN'T.

Know your characters before you start writing. You don't need a plot really, or even a world. The best novels have the best characters, they are the single most important part of your story. When you reflect on your favorite books, most of the time, it'll be the characters you remember loving and cheering for (or rooting against), not specific plot points or descriptions.

Now, you don't need to know their zodiac sign, favorite food, and preferred sleeping position, but you need to know what drives them, what pushes them to do the things they do? Is it a loved one, an item, a legacy? Keep it small, keep it specific. Saving the world is far too large, but repaying a blood debt to a childhood best friend is compelling. Then, how far are they willing to go for it? And at what point do they stop? What needs to happen to push them beyond that point? Therein lies the soul of your story, and the rest of the body will be built around it.

Build a writing routine that works WITH you. Writing a novel requires a lot of work and time. Look at your current day-to-day, not your IDEAL day-to-day, what it actually is. Be brutally honest with yourself. Whether you've got three hours of downtime, or twenty minutes in the pick-up line, figure out how much of it you want to commit to writing, and build a WC goal that fits into it.

For me, 1,500 words a day is the sweet spot. I can knock out a fairly clean chunk of 1,500 in about an hour and half. It's not hard for me to find that time, but it'll look different for everyone. Find what works for you, be flexible, and most importantly, BE KIND TO YOURSELF.

Even just 100 words a day is a win.

Fill your creative well regularly. Writing is an act of reaping. You are pouring forth and creating something from nothing. That requires a lot of energy, and it's absolutely vital that you replenish that energy and nourish your imagination frequently. It can be books, movies, music, whatever. Find what inspires you and consume it like air. You will be a better writer and a happier person for it.

All a first draft has to do is exist. That's it. If the first draft exists, regardless of form or quality, it's a victory. You cannot improve upon a blank page.

It's okay to write out of order. If you've got a scene at the end of the book that's taking up all your brain space, but you're only a quarter of the way in, just write it. Get it out of your head and onto paper. No one says you have to write the book in linear order. You'll feel more inspired and energized without all the mental clutter, and you'll curb any feelings of resentment or guilt that are motivation-killers.

Write for yourself first. We all have big dreams of being published (and that's ok!), but when you're focused on the selling, it sucks energy, focus, and authenticity from the actual creating. Write for fun, edit to sell. Or else you'll get nowhere fast.

Give yourself permission to be cringey and bad. Be self-indulgent. Be cliché. Be cringe. And do it badly. Write steaming piles of scalding hot garbage. Then do it again. I promise there will be nuggets of gold buried beneath the shit.

Now, some less lofty advice:

Find one tool to plan/plot and stick with it. I recommend Notion for digital planning.

Have a dedicated writing space. Kitchen table, closet floor, meticulously organized writing desk, I don't care, but have somewhere you can go that is predominantly for writing. For me, it's one specific chair at my dining room table.

Use a writing program that you can access anywhere and is backed up to the cloud. Back it up often. I use Reedsy.

Read craft books by the masters in your chosen genre. Learn the genre standards. You have to know the rules before you can break them.

We are no better than dogs. Treat yourself recklessly and often.

There is a worse writer than you getting published as we speak. Anyone can do it, and that includes you.

You only fail when you quit. Keep writing.

I believe in you!!!

[aureateink]

Honestly I think Fred wouldn’t end up with a Malfoy like George did. I think Fred’s less accepting and flexible while Georgie can see through the family name and see the real person. (not saying Fred can’t but he just wouldn’t get tangled up with a Malfoy in the first place)

I agree! Fred is hard-headed and less empathetic. He wouldn't let that door open even an inch. He wrote her off as soon as her existence came to his attention, and that was the end of it.

But poor George is a bleeding heart, and just can't turn his nose up at someone without cause because he knows how shitty that feels. It doesn't help that he's a sucker for a confident, sharp-tongued woman, and loves a little rebellion. He didn't stand a chance 😂

[aureateink]

since we’re talking about poly, do you think the rest of the brothers would be open to the idea as well? I personally can’t see bill or percy be open to it

I agree, and I would add Ron to that.

Charlie would be game under the right circumstances, similar to Fred.

I think George would be open to group sex, but not a relationship. I've always HC that he's a little more sensitive about sharing as the younger twin.

Bill, Percy, and Ron are monogamous af (which is fine and we completely support both lifestyles around here).

[aureateink]

loved loved loved those charlie fics you wrote!!!!

love the idea of him being sooo down bad for his girl

thank you honey!!

Charlie does nothing halfway, including loving his girl. He's all-in, all the time.

I love him sm 😩

[aureateink]

i am begging you on my hands and knees to do another barty fic PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE 🙏

stay tuned 🤭

[aureateink]

SOBBING THE BAT READER WAS SO CUTE WTH, i loved that fic with all my heart fr - i love how in the beginning sirius literally pushed her into thorns and made a royal idiot of himself when apologising/wingmanning but was the first to pick a fight for her when james wasn't around <3 i absolutely adored how attentive to detail you made james, recognising AND making sure she didn't get headaches from the light?? need to marry him rn, im so so serious.

The flirting felt so easy and natural too, i know i've praised ur dialogue before but you ATE with this one - his flirting being very obvious was clearly fitting of james but i liked how the reader at first couldn't even think of a response but as she got more comfortable she flirted a little back just in a more low-key manner, that bit where she asks for something awful he does comes to mind. That little "you'd think" feels like her subtly flirting and it feels far more fitting of the reader you've built than anything else she could've said. A bit of a pivot from flirting but you also wrote the other guys' cruelty really well too, i like that it was told through sirius and james rather than shown from the reader's pov directly, and that double meaning with the tongue comment was clever

The ending with her bat cheering him up on the pitch was damn adorable, it was so sweet the way she came back to him as he had first found her <33

-🪙

ahh thank you so much!!

I really wanted this story to show how they helped each other grow; James coaxed her out into the sun, while she helped James slow down and find comfort in the quiet.

They are each other's missing pieces 🥹

[aureateink]

hehe always at the scene of the crime, and RAGHHHHH YOU GET IT YOU GET IT - i love perfect head boy bill whose still grappling with the pressure from his family to live as the third parent to his siblings and maintain the status he'd built up, and bill after he becomes a curse breaker makes me sooo crazy. Actively choosing to live for himself and do what he wants for a change, finally living without thinking about what effects his actions have on all his siblings, not having to live up to his parents expectations - but still wanting to make something of himself. Just in the career he chose. I like to imagine having a choice is very important to bill because he was always deciding with others in mind, now he can make choices for just himself

love every version of him so bad, i need to shake him by the shoulders and kiss him silly -🪙

my shayla 😭

this is part of what makes werewolf!Bill so interesting to me. because his choice was taken, so what lengths will he go to to feel like he's reclaimed his agency? will he lean into the wild side? or exhaust himself like Remus constantly trying to fight it??

[aureateink]

I think most of the weasley brothers are absolutely incompetent when it comes to household chores (excluding charlie and bill for obvious reasons lol) i feel like molly just had them raised that way, they couldn’t cook if their life depended on it and i just KNOW the twins are super fucking messy

oh 100000000000%. Molly's a control freak and those boys are menaces. not to mention magic does at least half the work for them.

It's so funny bc the twins are canonically excellent at potions, but you're so right. Give them an egg and they're clueless.

The twins shared room is probably a disaster zone. hazmat suit required. probably gives Ginny and Bill apocalyptic migraines whenever they have to go in there.

Charlie probably lives like one of those crazy minimalists. give the man a tin mug, a spork, and three of the same tshirt and he's good.

ps this gave me an idea for a fic so ty 😂