The Writer's Workout @thewritersworkout - Tumblr Blog

It's been a while, let's see if we can remember how to do this...

Just finished our second free, virtual conference. Check out the full playlist (plus downloads and presenters) on the conference page! www.writersworkout.net/conference

#writing advice #writing help #writerscommunity #conference

xyywrites

Writing Advice I’ve Received

(In no particular order)

1. “You can’t edit a blank page.”

Yes, you can't. Sometimes it's hard to get the words out but even if it's crap get it out. Produce something into existence, then fix it. Who won't know what to fix if you've not written anything yet. Get those words out on the damn paper.

2. “Show, don’t tell—except when you should tell.”

I mean, this one takes time to figure out. When exactly should you skip the showing and just tell. Hit and trial guys. And then there's always book reviewers who'll tell-you-like-it-is. I don't think this is black and while. Only show or only tell. Maybe it lies in a gray area sometimes. The Goldilocks point where your narration hits just right.

3. “Write the book you want to read.”

This was one of the reasons I started writing. When you so desperately need to read a book with that vibe, that aesthetic and those specific character troupes in such a setting... You're like fuck it. I'll write it myself. How hard can it be?

Spoiler Alert: it will destroy you and your self esteem. Good luck!

4. “Don’t compare your first draft to someone else’s final draft.”

I've seen many versions of this explained through memes. One of them I remember is: it's like you're judging your raw materials (the batter) with someone's 3 tier cake. And that is being blatantly unfair to yourself.

5. “Make your characters want something, even if it’s just a glass of water.”

We all have motivations, wants, desires. So do your characters. A character without desire feels dry, flat and uninteresting.

6. “The best way to improve your writing is to read more than you write.”

Reading other authors’ work, especially those whose writing you admire, teaches you things that can’t be learned through theory or workshops alone. You’ll pick up on pacing, voice, structure, and character troupes. If you're like me you'd start noticing a trend. Or cliche lines that are repeatedly used.

7. “Your first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

Write for you this means. For you. You wanted this story. It's for you to explore the plot, the characters, the world. It’s your chance to get everything down and see where it leads, without worrying about perfection.

8. “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”

This is one of Stephen King’s rules of writing, and it’s a brilliant one. When you’re drafting, don’t worry about anyone else reading your work. It’s your time to be raw and experimental. But when it comes to revising, open that door—let others in for feedback, because the revision process is where the magic happens.

That's it. My limited knowledge presented to you. You must've heard of many of these already. But just in case.... 💛

bunneis

chewedcorn

Unreasonable Ideas

unlettered-heathen

It seems silly but this is why it’s so important to give yourself downtime where you can just let your brain idle!! You gotta let yourself become the cardboard box, trying to make ideas is just herding cats so let them come to you instead

xirlos

This is especially useful for ADHD people – chasing something relentlessly will just burn you out. You’ll find it if you divert attention, annoyingly – use the weird psychological quirks to your advantage!

tkingfisher

“Become the cardboard box” is terrifyingly good advice.

santa-is-dead-deactivated201707

1five1two

Polar stratospheric clouds. Fredrik Broms.

#setting

keepcalmandwritefiction

Fiction is not a luxury for privileged people. Fiction is for the homeless reading it at the public library, the prisoners reading it in jail, the sick reading it alone in a hospital.

When life becomes too much, a little escapism becomes a necessity.

– Icona (@/iconawrites)

Make sure to check out our latest blog post all about the end of the story: The Epilogue!

Excerpt:

Last month, we looked at the rather controversial topic of prologues and this month, we’re talking about their more forgiving sibling, epilogues. If a good prologue opens a window into your story, a successful epilogue ties a neat bow around it. The epilogue is not the ending of your story—instead, it is the part that comes after the end, once the climax has peaked and been resolved. It adds one last boost to the conclusion of a story, which, above all else, should create a feeling of satisfaction for the reader.

Things to keep in mind

Going back to my essay analogy, let’s think of an epilogue as a concluding paragraph. When writing a conclusion for an essay, the number one rule is that you don’t bring up any new ideas. So, if you choose to write an epilogue, don’t introduce new characters or settings. Readers will get thrown off if they read an entire story about a coven of witches only for the epilogue to mention the existence of space pirates. Unless you’re keying up for a sequel, readers might feel cheated. “What do you mean there are space pirates? Where were they this whole time?!” they’ll probably think. You want your reader to appreciate the ending to your story and contemplate the themes you explored, so don’t confuse them with new ideas!

#epilogue #writing #writing tips #writing help #the writer's workout

writersflow

chaos-monkeyy

Me, every single time I come to the realization that just because yesterday was a good writing day, doesn't mean that every day from now on will also be a good writing day

writingdotcoffee

Rule one, you have to write. If you don’t write, nothing will happen.

Neil Gaiman (via writingdotcoffee)

marzipanandminutiae

I am going to imagine a scene between two deeply fucked-up characters that is so improbably tender

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will really have a doc titled ‘fic planning’ and then it’s just blank

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will say “i’m going to write!” and then do something else with the doc open in the background

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will literally put out the most heart-wrenching and devastating piece of fiction that’s a million times better than the source and go haha hope you liked :)

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will have a life changing event happen to them (married, natural disaster, accident etc etc) and then still manage to put out an incredible fic and go ‘sorry this was 0.394838373 seconds late guys :(‘

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will go ‘love writing!’ and then don’t write for 10 years

puirell-deactivated20221122

anyway i love writing and i love writers

puirell-deactivated20221122

now hold on a goddamned second

puirell-deactivated20221122

writers will complain about this post while continuing to not write