Universal Declaration of Human Writes

The Universal Declaration of Human Writes aims to form a community of writers and readers of all levels and seriousness. It is a place to find writing tips and advice, prompts, grammar, vocabulary, writing/reading exercises, and support. Anyone can submit writing and advice. Anyone can ask questions. If you are looking for critique or workshopping, we can make it happen. If you have something that you are inspired by or which changed your writing/reading, please share!

[udhw]

How consumer culture, identity politics and a narrowing class of readers are changing how we approach novels.

[udhw]

For those of you with writers block...

I know that some of this stems from trying to be original. In the word original is origin. Go back to tradition. Think about your favorite story and play with it. Use some of the simplest writing techniques and tweak them. Play by the rules and then break all of them. You have a foundation in all of the writing that's come before you. All you have to do is build on it.

[desperatecreatures]

[udhw]

Don't be afraid to write about something taboo! Wilde did it, and ended up with some of the most brilliant works of literature and theatre!

[writing-tips-daily]

[udhw]

This is the biggest problem I have with poetry. Does this effect anyone else?

[udhw]

Writing Prompt

If the world was flat, what would be on the other side?

[udhw]

“The girls are getting bored when you talk. Your stories go on too long. From now on, you need to leave out every other sentence when you tell a story.”

[udhw]

One of my favorite's is Nabakov's Vivian Darkbloom - what's yours?

[simplynicasworld-deactivated201]

Writers use everything. We can’t help it. Whatever touches us touches our writing.

Octavia E. Butler - Parable of the Sower

[writer-blood]

[udhw]

"Almost everything serious is difficult, and everything is serious."

You can respond to this prompt on my friend's blog HERE.

One paragraph or less!

Thinking about big picture things or big life questions is a great starting point to get the ideas flowing for any kind of writing. You need to find out what you believe and what you're passionate about in order to write something meaningful that other people will invest in and care about.

Start asking yourself difficult questions. It will pay off.

[waitingfordoomsday]

It was lovely to be tired.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce (via interplanetary-bean-wagon)

-- This is such a simple statement, but it says SO much. Writing like this is something to strive for!

[udhw]

You have to resign yourself to the fact that you waste a lot of trees before you write anything you really like, and that's just the way it is. It's like learning an instrument, you've got to be prepared for hitting wrong notes occasionally, or quite a lot, cause I wrote an awful lot before I wrote anything I was really happy with. And read a lot. Reading really helps. Read anything you can get your hands on.

JK Rowling paid reviews

[udhw]

It's All in the Mind (megustapastel)

Cuthbert (officialonore) -- side note: I love Cuthbert as a character name

and finally, a submission that is in response to one of our prompts:

(First line is from "Life of Pi")

This book was born as I was hungry. Hungry for adventure, hungry for knowledge, for someone to understand me. Hungry for some pizza. I did what we all dreamed of doing. Walked out of the lecture hall as my professor droned on about integrals and derivatives, packed a bag, and left. I left to New York (I was a cliche teen, mind filled with Tumblr pictures of city skylines in a vintage filter and a superimposed wanderlust quote). Now, I went from bartending at a shady nightclub, to starving near the temple of the gods, that is a journey only the fates could have planned. (blackheartwhitesoul)

If you have any feedback, feel free to contact the writers!

Check out all of our submissions HERE.

Submit your own HERE.

[udhw]

Get a beautiful leather-bound notebook. Go crazy. Search for one that is absolutely perfect. You'll feel bad if you don't write in it!

[geekinterpreter-deactivated2013]

[thebeginningwriter]

You fail only if you stop writing.

Ray Bradbury

[writetogetherfighttogether]

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.

Saul Bellow