#w.advice

[quillstarters]

Hi, I'm a new writer, and I was wondering how to link your masterlist in your description??

• hello new writer! to link your masterlist you need to follow a few steps. don’t worry it’s easy and really quick.

go to the desktop version and click “edit appearance”.

you’ll find a grey rectangle with “edit theme” written on it. click it!

in the description of your blog, copy <a href="link of your m.list">name you want in your decription</a>

save it! and ta-da, the magic happens!

[quillstarters]

what wordcount do you think is appropriate to put a "keep reading" line? i feel like people are more likely to read your stuff if you don't have that line, but i feel kinda bad for inconveniencing people that way.

• it depends on the overall word count. in my opinion, people can be annoyed when it takes too long to scroll through one post. 

therefore, i think you can put a "keep reading" line after maybe 200-500 words. but again, if your post is 700 words, why hide 200 additional words? it’s useless. 

moreover, i think it is not only about how many words you should put it after but rather when. this line is a great way to build suspense. if you have a great first sentence, one that intrigues the reader, why not put the line right after it? you should not underestimate the power this little line has over a curious reader. 

to conclude, i don’t think there is a rule concerning that line, i don’t care whether it is here or not. it’s you who should use it how you want, but of course, it is absolutely necessary for fanfictions with more than 3K. 

[quillstarters]

hi! i'm kinda new to writing and one of the biggest problems i have is inserting backstory/background info (eg. a character's past, a flashback, events that happened prior to the story, or details about the past that explain a current situation) without it being too overbearing and lengthy. do you have any tips for inserting backstory seamlessly? thank you in advance 💓💓

• i will start by saying this, a sentence that every writer should know and remember: a reader does not need to know everything. once you realize that, i promise it will be easier. 

to begin with, what's the backstory for? it is, first of all, a way to introduce the dynamics of a character to readers but also, and above all, information that helps the main plot’s development. 

the last thing you want is for your backstory to slow it down.

for example, writing in a chapter that my character had a difficult childhood, ruined by the mockery of his classmates from kindergarten to high school. 

this detail seems anodyne, right? however, when later that same character will be reluctant to befriend another, i will be able to justify and understand his distrust.

on the contrary, writing that my character likes apple pies when they are perfectly golden and cooked thanks to his black oven has no use and, as a reader, this information will serve no purpose other than to WEIGH DOWN the chapter.

details, yes, but not too much. the reader wants to get to know the character, but above all he wants the story to move forward. that is the main objective. too much backstory can cause the reader to lose track.

if, however, you are determined to tell the entire backstory of your character in your work, then space these anecdotes, or simplify them. you're not writing a biography, you're writing a story in your own right.

flashbacks are a good idea to introduce these elements but they should not be too numerous to the point that you tell the story of the past and no longer that of the present.

to be honest, there are no real rules when it comes to backstory, just advice. each author has a different style, and if it is influenced by realism and naturalism, then they will tend to want to add a lot of details. 

if you do this, and i come back to a previous idea, synthesize them. sometimes a writing style with simple vocabulary and short sentences make it easier for the reader to record information without getting tired.

a very interesting blog article, which i will link in the sources, has written a list that could guide you in your writing.

“there’s too much back story if readers notice it.”

“there’s too much if readers skip it.”

“there’s too much if it completely erases a story’s momentum.“

“there’s too much if there’s more back story than current story.”

“there’s too much if it interrupts multiple scenes or chapters in a row.”

“there’s too much if one character dwells only on the past.”

“there’s too much if every character has a flashback.”

“there’s too much back story if there’s more—or nearly as much—reporting of what has happened before the current time in the story than what is happening now. back story should be a very small percentage of the narrative.”

“back story is in the wrong place if it short-circuits a building momentum or interrupts an emotional or dramatic scene.”

“t’s in the wrong place if it’s placed back to back with other instances of back story.”

→ sources / interesting articles: 1, 2, 3, 4.

[quillstarters]

what's a queue? i see some writers' fic recs use a hashtag like m. something and i'm wondering how to do that as well as how to link it? thanks so much!

• according to tumblr itself “the queue helps keep your blog active by staggering posts over a period of hours or days”. to put it simply, it automatically schedule posts for you over a period that you choose. you can publish from 1 to 50 posts in that chosen period. 

how to do that? after you’re done making your post, you only have to click “add to queue”. if you want to edit your schedule, just click on “queue” on the account menu; the options should appear at the top. 

[quillstarters]

how to manage writers' block :( i still have 3 other requests for the wikipedia challenge and i can't seem to find inspiration

• to begin with, what causes writer’s block? it is pretty simple actually. 

while there are many reasons that can trigger this impossibility to write, one always seems to stand out: perfectionism. people are obsessed with the idea of creating a perfect story. they want everything to be perfect, like the story they imagined in their head. however, that’s not how it works. 

“you try to get it perfect in your head and never do, so you never begin.” 

art isn’t about perfection. it’s about feelings, humanity, personality. how can you focus on all of these if you obsess over the idyllic version of your story?  

a story can’t be perfect after the first draft and it will never be anyway. but you want to know something? it’s completely normal and okay. no story is perfect, they are just appreciated by different readers. 

therefore, you have to remember one thing when you face this struggle; it’s not because the story is not how you’ve imagined it that it sucks. 

the one advice that i can give you is that, sometimes, you just need to write. it might sound dumb but you cannot defeat the beast if you never walk into its den, you know? so, write. write without thinking of the style, the mistakes. just do it. 

however, you’re still stuck? you’re here, facing a blank word document? don’t worry, some people have thought of multiple methods.

open a new document and put your font in white. now, you cannot see your letters. great! start to write. the number of words doesn’t matter, it can be two sentences, a paragraph… you only get to put it back to normal after you’re done.

many writers have tried and showed their enthusiasm about the “comic sans method.” i never tested it myself but the childlike appearance of this font apparently helps to trigger your writing flow. 

read! without you knowing it, every character you encounter, every plot you discover, every sentence you read, every style of author you experience influences your creativity.

use a distraction-free word processing program. tested and approved by yours truly. this method works for me. by seeing nothing else but the words, and no such thing like the number of words helps a lot. the one i use is the chrome extension writer. 

do not start with the beginning. the first sentence is the first impression the reader will have of your story, it is, therefore, a big deal and another source of stress for the writer. do not worry about that right now. write as you like. maybe you already know the end? great, start with that. if you feel like you’re stuck on a scene, start another one. no one said you had to write your stories in order. 

i think it is unnecessary to remind you that those are only a few methods. thousands exist, and maybe the ones i quoted aren’t made for you. don’t worry. everyone is different. please, use the sources i indicated below, as well as the interesting articles i’ve read concerning this.

a few quotes,

“don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. begin, and inspiration will find you.” h. jackson brown jr.

“allowing yourself to make mistakes can ultimately go beyond a writer’s block.” — n. agnihotri

“every day, writing. no matter how bad. something will come.” — s. plath

“you can always edit a bad page. you can’t edit a blank page.” — j. picoult

→ sources: 1, 2, 3, 4.

→ chrome-extension “writer”: here. 

→ various articles dealing with this subject: 1, 2, 3.