Taralkariel's Writing Blog

[luna-azzurra]

Writing is lonely in a specific way that is hard to explain to people who don't do it. not lonely like isolated. lonely like you are trying to build a bridge to another human consciousness using only words on a page and you will never actually know if you got there.

You send the thing out and maybe someone reads it and something moves in them and they have no way to tell you exactly what moved or why and you have no way to know if it was the thing you meant or something else entirely.

You're working in permanent uncertainty about whether any of it lands. and you keep going anyway. you have to develop this strange faith in the act itself, in the value of the attempt separate from the outcome, because if you need confirmation every time you sit down you will never sit down.

Most of the writing happens in a silence that never fully gets broken. you learn to be okay in that silence or you don't last.

[toast-the-unknowing]

the bad news: I now hate my current wip and strongly believe there isn't a single joke in it that lands

the good news: I know my process enough to recognize this as the slump that I hit in everything I write when it's like three-quarters-ish done

the bad news: the only way out is through

the good news: I do know the way out!

the bad news: yeah but it's through

[toast-the-unknowing]

making a cross stitch that says "I am funny and he would fucking say that" to hang directly above my monitor

[toast-the-unknowing]

"hey toast you stayed up past midnight because you were working on the fic and not because you were procrastinating by making a hideous pattern for a joke cross stitch" have you never met a writer before

[toast-the-unknowing]

gonna tell my kids this was live laugh love

[luxfuxxvii]

not now kitten, mommy needs to get up off her ass and overcome her fear of writing poorly because it's better than not writing at all.

[kabsey]

Reminder to self: A file folder of outlines and character notes and half-written scenes is the equivalent of an artist’s sketchbook and holds just as much value to the creative process.

If a framed canvas isn’t the only worthwhile expression of visual art, then a fully edited and polished piece of significant length is not the only worthwhile expression of writing.

[theglitchywriterboi]

I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3

[stevviefox]

Passing along for all the writers out there!

[ourdramaqueen]

I could sure as hell use some of this... 😭 And of course wishing all my fellow writers the same!

[xiaq]

One of the best things about being a writer is thinking of something small you can add to your work that’s just. Devastating. Like you’re sitting there going. Oh. That would be diabolical. People would get really riled up about that. Exquisite. Let’s do it.

[scriptstructure]

From Neill Cameron’s Twitter:

I was working recently with a bunch of kids who kept tearing up their own drawings in frustration, so I did something I’ve not done before.

I talked honestly to a classroom full of children about how much I hate my own drawing.

Okay, not the full extent. These kids ain’t ready to hear that. But that I do.

They were kind of appalled, and horrified and fascinated, but anyway, they stopped tearing up their drawings.

As I attempted to explain it — and many of you reading this will know already — when you make a drawing, there are two versions of it.

There’s the version that exists in your head, and then there’s the version that ends up on paper.

And because you can see both versions, you can’t help but compare them, and feel frustrated by the difference.

But here’s the thing, and I think it’s easy to forget this: no-one else can see that first version.

They can’t judge against it. They can only see, and judge, the version that exists on paper.

And you know what, this sounds crazy, but they might actually like it for what it is. They might think it’s cool that you made it.

I mean, holy god, if you guys could see the version of Mega Robo Bros that exists in my head.

Your eyeballs would melt and your heart be burned away by sheer divine fire of amazingness.

But the differences between that version and what’s on the page are only visible to me, and shouldn’t — can’t — matter to anyone else.

If a draing goes a bit wrong, ah well. Look at it, learn, try and make the next one better.

Or, possibly even better: abandon false objective notions of quality altogether and just enjoy the process, the activity, of making a thing.

Not quite how I phrased it to the Year5s, but hopefully you get the idea.

IN SUMMARY: be kinder to your drawings, and yourselves. I know, it’s hard. But try.

(Though this was written by a visual artist, the advice is applicable across creative disciplines – be kind to yourselves and to your stories!)

[splend-42]

Oh.

[nitw]

adhd demand avoidance/paralysis is the fuckin enemyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[nitw]

SAY IT WITH ME KIDS (AND ADULTS)

it doesn't need to be perfect, try not to expect it to be

the hypothetical feeling of unfulfillment you're trying to avoid is nothing compared to the shame you'll almost certainly feel if you end up not trying at all

it's easier to pick up from step 1/10 than step 0/10

if you need to get moving and are currently not moving, try moving in an unrelated way. do something else. literally anything else outside of The Thing just don't stay frozen

yes this will happen again, no the solution won't always be the same, no your past experience won't always make it easier. BUT if you can internalize these things at least you might not be as surprised or feel as guilty(!!!) when it happens and THAT can do a lot of heavy lifting

[literallymechanical]

Lots of writing advice on tumblr. It's been years since I've written fiction in a serious way, but I did write a couple of (bad) novels in my early 20's, a bunch of short stories, and also a few hundred thousand words of LARP writing, and I do have a bacherlor's of science in creative writing (lol).

From what I can tell, there are only three universally applicable pieces of writing advice:

Read a lot (mandatory)

Show your writing to people (mandatory)

Have something wrong with you in a way that is impossible to articulate except by writing a novel (optional)

[mslanna]

I think this one is also important:

4. write

[libraford]

Advice I gave someone today was: 'do it stupid.'

She wants to learn photography. Do it stupid. Take a million photos. Don't think about why they're not good. Enjoy the process of taking photos.

Pick out tge ones you like the most and figure out why you like them. Is it because the subject is centered? Is it because you caught them doing something cool? Is it because the light made cool shadows?

Do it stupid. If you try to do it smart, youll get stuck. If you think too much you'll never get to doing. Do it stupid.

[etherdiver]

Holy shit

[quill-ting]

This is honestly how I started quilting! I had fabric, I had a knowledge of backstitch, I had a quilting magazine. I asked "how hard can it be?" and now here we are. Just have fun and give it a go!

[wheremermaidsdwell]

this is 100% how i learned to sew. i had some vague sewing knowledge from my childhood (mostly watching my mom), got given a sewing machine as an adult and just fucked around and occasionally googled some shit until i started figuring it out. Now I can sew.

[samknitchester]

also how I learned to knit and crochet! (plus youtube)

[lesbiansforboromir]

You actually cannot skip to being good at a creative endeavour that you haven't put much practice into. You cannot trick your way out of the 'knows that your work is not what you want it to be but don't know how to improve it' stage by planning or reading or talking about it really really hard. At some point you just have to craft through it until your brain finds it's own unique way back to the 'everything I make slaps' stage and be prepared to start the cycle all over again. You just have to make that project you're excited about slightly less good than you want it to be. (Says this standing in a pool of blood and covered in blood and also coughing up a little blood)

[awesomebutunpractical]

The first draft philosophy that has finally gotten me writing for fun isn't "worst version of story" type framing, it's "tell the story to yourself."

Your story isn't ready for polished prose, you don't know what happens yet. This doesn't make it Bad Writing, it's a different type of writing. And this ties into why I think the plotter vs pantser debate misses the mark - both detailed outlines AND make-it-up-as-you-go first drafts are ways to make up the story. This part is for you, so how you do it should be whatever is the most fun or satisfying way to tell yourself the story.

[wafflewarrior111]

So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.

I'm going to try it.

[missroserose]

I love the lawyer metaphor, because whenever I see “John knew that...” in prose writing I immediately think “how?  How does he know it?”  Interrogate your witnesses.  Cross-examine them.  Make them explain their reasoning.  It pays dividends.

[heck-in-a-handbasket]

All of this, but also feels/felt. My editor has forbidden me from using those and it’s forced me to stretch my skills.

[ineedthesons]

This is your "show not tell" advice explained!

[tarysande]

Editor here.

First, let me preface this with something very important: you can treat all of this advice as SECOND-DRAFT ADVICE. It is so much easier to rewrite this kind of stuff once you have words on the page. Telling yourself the first draft is totally appropriate and acceptable.

What we’re talking about here are FILTER WORDS (and to some degree verbs of being). Yes, “thought” words are included. But so are “heard, saw, looked, tasted, smelled” etc.—most words having to do with the senses.

This isn’t black and white advice; sometimes you’ll use these words and that’s okay. They’re not WRONG. They’re just weaker. And they’re weaker because they create distance between the reader and the experience of the character.*

If you want your reader to feel like they’re experiencing the story right alongside the character, you want to cut down on filter words.

*This is particularly important with first person and close third POVs. The reader always knows whose eyes they’re seeing through and thoughts they’re privy to. So you don’t need to tell them “I saw X.” Or “I heard X.” Or “I thought Y.” You can just jump into the action/observation as it’s happening.

This is also where you want to pay attention to verbs of being.

“It was rainy.” Versus: “The rain pounded against the roof.” Or “The rain howled like an injured animal.” Or “The rain tapped against the window like an anxious lover.” All of these are inviting the reader deeper into the experience of the story by using stronger verbs and similes. And, at the same time, they stir feelings (instead of TELLING feelings). And feelings keep your reader engaged. Engaged readers keep turning pages; engaged readers become FANS.

[the-haiku-bot]

This is also where

you want to pay attention

to verbs of being.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[defilerwyrm]

The most valuable advice that Author Ex gave me through the years that we wrote together was this: the problem with all these filter words is that they create distance in the POV.

That means that when you read a line like

John saw that the curtains were open.

It immediately takes you OUT of the character's perspective and instead tells you what they experience as a secondhand observation.

You don't have to get fancy or purple with how you rephrase things like this. Not everything needs a ton of breathing room.

You wanna know what's perfectly impactful while keeping a tight POV?

The curtains were open.

Simple as that.

[porcupine-girl]

What I always love about this every time it crosses my dash is that while it's good advice, it's not actually framed as advice. It's framed as a time-limited challenge. That's very different!

It's not saying "never use these words again." It's saying "give this a try, a really hardcore try, just for a little while (it says six months but obviously you can adjust that), and see what happens." Which is so much more useful, because it's framing it as a learning experience.

If you do this, for six months or two months or one full story or whatever, at the end of that time you'll have a better understanding of when these words are and aren't necessary and when and how to use them to get the specific effect you want - because like defilerwyrm says, they create distance, and maybe sometimes you want that!

So much writing advice falls flat because you can always think of an exception that allows you to ignore the rule. But a writing challenge gives you a chance to explore new territory and see how it works.

[ashen-crest]

I can do it. I can write a chapter. I am capable of putting sentences together. I know what a comma is. I am Aware of the Character.

[rythms-of-synthax-deactivated20]

Quote of the day

[baffledtreesquid]

I’m seeing a lot of people saying this post changed their brain chemistry, and as a neuroscientist I wanted to say yes!!! Yes it does!

Wanting something requires dopamine signaling, but liking something doesn’t.

If you have a mental illness/disorder that affects dopamine, you might feel that you don’t want to do the things that you like. You do still like them. You will appreciate having done them.

Let your likes guide you.

(If you want to read more, here’s one experimental paper about it. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5171207/ This theory called the incentive-sensitization theory was originally created to explain behaviors in addiction but can be applied elsewhere as well)

Rewards are both ‘liked’ and ‘wanted’, and those two words seem almost interchangeable. However, the brain circuitry that mediates the psych

[writingdose]

writers, you can and should be proud of your fic even if you personally are not satisfied with it. because even if you think it's "not good", you can be proud of the fact that you wrote it and it's something you created. you can be proud of the fact it's not ai.

repeat after me, it's something you put your soul and dedication in — and that's something ai could never achieve.

[lightwolf]

Editing? Oh you mean fic patching.

[lightwolf]

Protagonist now has more complex motivations.

Protagonist now remembers key facts about important people. He no longer develops convenient amnesia between cutscenes.

Protagonist now has a cooldown on certain adverbs. Adverbs have been buffed by 30% to compensate.

Developer note: Adverbs are important to writing but they are sometimes overused. This change keeps adverbs relevant while encouraging the use of adjectives and verbs.

The horse now has a name.

Deuteragonist snark power has been increased to 150, up from 75.

[mmedemerteuil]

Characters now no longer reference the previous version’s climate and have been updated to react appropriately to the currently set season.

Solved a glitch where supernumerary limbs would sometimes emerge during complex physical interactions.

Should no longer display “[insertnamehere]” during conversations and narration. All of such occurrances have been replaced with the appropriate tags.

Conversation continuity has been improved. Characters will no longer inappropriately respond with lines from previous iterations of the narrative.

All references to “Event A” have been purged to reflect changes in narrative structure.

Now with more thematically-consistent swearing.

[kedreeva]

Back-to-back repeated words that resulted from sentence rearranging or start/stop editing have been cleared.

Paragraphs which contained two or more instances of the same adjective have had their adjectives updated to accurately reflect a player’s vocabulary inventory.

Minor time traveling issues have been resolved, all characters should now exist in the same tense.

Punctuation has been improved. Commas have been reduced by half.

Characters sighing has been reduced by 30%.

Characters looking at things or people during conversations has been reduced by 40%. To make up for this, characters thinking about the conversation has been boosted and descriptive narrative has been added.

Title has been applied.