#am writer

[storiesgoeveron]

Writing tip of the day: Embrace the power of revision. Your first draft is just the beginning. Take the time to review, revise, and refine your work. Edit for clarity, coherence, and flow. Cut unnecessary words and tighten your sentences. Polish your prose until it gleams. Remember, great writing is often the result of multiple rounds of revision. Don't be afraid to make changes and let your words evolve. Happy writing!

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[1randomperson15]

He knew from the start, how could he not? It was merely a fact of life. There was nothing he could do about it, there never was. 

But this time, he had someone with him, someone connected to his very soul. He had a partner with unconditional love and support. He had Tango.

So, he decided to hope, at the very least to forget. To put the unwavering certainty of failure in a locked box buried beneath chickens, cows, smiles, and belief. Oh how foolish he was.

He should’ve known. If not from the moment he woke up in another world with three more mocking hearts, then from his first death. 

Through no fault of his own, his life was the first one lost. Back then, it felt as if the universe had conspired to rip his life away. Though, perhaps it was a sharp warning to be more careful, more aware. A warning he did not heed.

How could he? When he had a partner he could fight the world with. When that partner was understanding and never expected anything more than what Jimmy could give, did give. Always so proud of whatever meager resources he could gather. When he made mistakes, he was never mad. When the world was cruel to them both because of Jimmy, he only readied himself to fight the world. 

But now? He screwed up. He wasn’t careful enough, he wasn’t quick enough, he wasn’t prepared enough to stop the universe from once again plucking his happiness out of his hands. He was reckless, he didn’t think quick enough, didn’t fight hard enough. He wasn’t enough. 

So he would pay. Pay with vicious words. Pay with red eyes once filled with love and trust reflect hatred and contempt. Pay with hostility and darkness. As his old wounds throbbed with phantom pains, listening to groans of sorrow that bite more than any flurry of angry words ever could. 

And worst of all, he heard the frustration.

“You’re still here?” 

The resignation.

“It’s over.” 

The rejection.

“Go home.”

The dismissal.

“Go.”

[maxkirin]

No matter how long it's been, or how much has happened, you can always start again.

It’s really easy to fall into a cycle of guilt and shame where you feel awful for all the misses chances and wasted time—BUT YOU CAN’T LIVE LIKE THAT. The past is the past and the only thing that matters right now is the present. You want to write a novel? It doesn’t matter how many times you tried before, you can always start again. And you should!

You can do this, I’m rooting for you!! ✌️💜

[galateagalvanized]

I love all your TCW fics so much! Your writing style is so good. Do you have any tips for a fellow writer? :) Have a good day!

Ah wow, thank you, Anon! That means so much to me! As for writing tips, goodness, I can’t say I have many coherent ones. I have been collecting tips for a long time, but less like a dragon and more like a magpie: incautious and insatiable. Here’s what I’ve picked up through the years from various sources, and I hope you find something that might help you:

Do more with less. Skip ahead of “travel” movements, and let the reader fill in the blanks. This can be as simple as replacing “He opened the door. On the other side was...” with “the door opened to reveal”. 

On the same note, trust your reader just a little more than you think you should when laying out a plot or defining a character. Some readers won’t get everything, and some will get too much (I’ve definitely had plot holes pointed out to me before), but aim for a happy medium. This will also help with using character actions instead of direct emotions, which is more immersive (”Xadia ducked her head to hide her blush, looking pointedly at the shiny black tip of one of Adam’s shoes” instead of “Xadia was embarrassed and shy in front of her crush”).

Surprise yourself. Use the second or third thing you think up and not the first. This can be true for metaphors (sharp as a knife? or sharp as a transparisteel splinter? or as Fourth Sister’s tone?!) and for events (in What Came After, I had originally intended to actually have Obi-Wan sitting on the throne with Satine’s body across his lap, but I decided that was too trite/evil for him, so that scene became part of Cody’s imaginings.)

Read a lot! Not just fanfic. Read the news (not social media news; I mean NPR or something you pay for with more than just clicks). Read poetry! Read old shit and new shit. (I’ve got recs if you want them.)

Also definitely listen to people who have made a career out of good storytelling. This is my storytelling bible: http://www.tubefilter.com/2012/06/12/pixar-rules-of-storytelling/ I reread it at least twice a year.

And ten years ago, @neil-gaiman said some extremely kind things to me, and without his words, I’d never have kept writing. His writing advice has rarely led me astray (and when it did, I still ended up somewhere very interesting).

Finish things!! Finish a first draft, and then rewrite it. (There’s no such thing as good writing, only good re-writing.) It’s a Gaimanism, I think, but remember that you write the first draft for you, and the second draft for everyone else. Don’t get hung up on making the first draft perfect.

This is definitely, definitely way more than you asked for, and I must apologize for that! I didn’t have time to write you a short answer (!) hahaha. Above all, have fun with it!!! It’s a rare soul that can write for a living/money, so please, first and foremost, write for fun.

[emily-charles]

[leorieshearts]

My love

He loved me so much that his eyes sparkled at the mention of my name, but I couldn't love him the same way. So I prayed to the heavens to set him free and the heavens did. I did not lose him because he did cheated on me. I prayed to the heavens and they answered I am happy to know that he has finally found the one who gives him back the love that she recieved.

[storiesgoeveron]

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