An Aspiring Writer With A Fuckton Of Work Ahead

@writemeshitpoemsplz

Just a sub-blog to save my writing tidbits!

73 posts

heir-to-the-diamond-throne

64 Sensory Prompts

Watching a meteor shower

Digging your fingers into fresh dirt

Snow being shoved down the back of your coat

Napping in sunshine

Trying to walk on ice

Walking through the woods

Raindrops on eyelashes

The way cold glass fogs when you press your hand against it

A perfectly brewed cup of tea

The taste of Vodka at the back of your throat

Blood at the corner of your mouth

Cloying sweetness on the back of your tongue

The first glass of fresh water

Stale breath when you wake up

The taste of salt on the tip of your tongue

The taste of almonds

Your bed after travelling

Red wine stained lips

Satin in candlelight

Reflections in glass

Thigh-high stockings and garter belts

Neon lights at 1.30am

Darting shadows in the corner of your eye

Dust floating in golden sunlight

The smell of ozone during a storm

The smell of Cologne/Perfume on warm skin

The musty smell of an abandoned home

The bitter tang of acetone

The smell of burning wood

The smell of freshly baked bread

The cold, sharp smell of the first frost

The smell of blood

The feel of fingertips trailing over a bare shoulder blade

The feel of fingers brushing together by accident

Blowing a raspberry against someone’s skin

Being so close that you can feel your lips brush when you whisper

The tender ache when you press against bruises

A person’s weight as they lie on top of you

Stepping in something squishy

Gritty eyes when you stare into fire too long

A door closing

A ticking wristwatch

Your favourite song on repeat for the hundredth time

Distant traffic

The creak of leather

The waver in a person’s voice when they’re stressed

Singing badly as loud as you can

A quiet sigh as they turn away

Trying to pull on clothes with damp skin

The empty space that can’t be breached between you in bed

The jittery, sick feeling when you can’t do anything

Exhausted numbness after crying

The relief of fatalistic recklessness

The moment when reality starts to make sense again

Finding old photographs you’d forgotten about

Someone accepting the bad parts of you without judging

Brown iodine stains on skin

Rust red dirt

Orange sunsets

Yellow halogen lights

Green wine bottles

Fingertips smudged in blue ink

Indigo skies just before dawn

Violet bruised eyes

Feel free to use in writing and art - I’ll be tracking the tag ‘sensory prompts’ if you want to share :)

I think adding stars makes everything better

coolsaddad-blog

Roses are red, that much is true, but violets are purple, not fucking blue.

feels-for-the-fictional

I have been waiting for this post all my life.

marzipanandminutiae

They are indeed purple, But one thing you’ve missed: The concept of “purple” Didn’t always exist.

Some cultures lack names For a color, you see. Hence good old Homer And his “wine-dark sea.”

A usage so quaint, A phrasing so old, For verses of romance Is sheer fucking gold.

So roses are red. Violets once were called blue. I’m hugely pedantic But what else is new?

ineptshieldmaid

My friend you’re not wrong About Homer’s wine-ey sea! Colours are a matter Of cultural contingency;

Words are in flux And meanings they drift But the word purple You’ve given short shrift.

The concept of purple, My friends, is old And refers to a pigment once precious as gold.

By crushing up molluscs From the wine-dark sea You make a dye: Imperial decree

Meant that in Rome, to wear purpura was a privilege reserved

For only the emperor!

The word ‘purple’, for clothes so fancy, Entered English By the ninth century

.

Why then are voilets Not purple in song? The dye from this mollusc, known for so long

Is almost magenta; More red than blue. The concept of purple is old, and yet new.

The dye is red, So this might be true: Roses are purple And violets are blue

.

While this song makes me merry, Tyrian purple dyes many a hue From magenta to berry And a true purple too.

But fun as it is to watch this poetic race The answer is staring you right in the face: Roses are red and violets are blue Because nothing fucking rhymes with purple.

cryoverkiltmilk

young-il-long-kiyoshi

IT GOT SO MUCH BETTER.

My reaction, only with coffee.

thetiredpianist

Hang on, need to send this to my literature prof

badgrapple-deactivated20220614

*snorts a line* CHRISTIANS SHOULD ALL BE PRO ABORTION. ITS JUST SENDING SOULS DIRECTLY TO HEAVEN *snorts another line*

ajourneymansjourney

I’m pretty sure unbaptized babies go to purgatory though

Edit: Or Limbo maybe?

gunsandfireandshit

The Pope abolished limbo a few years ago

The Pope ceases the existence of a realm.

badgrapple-deactivated20220614

The Pope seems like an outdated figurehead until you remember he can create and destroy entire spiritual planes.

Also the Popenis just for Catholics, not Christian’s. Unless we’re clumping those two separate religions together now.

badgrapple-deactivated20220614

Catholicism is……a sect of christianity……

personsonable-deactivated201908

writemeshitpoemsplz

While this is an entertaining little chain of whatever, Catholicism is legit the first OFFICIAL branch of Christianity. Let me say that one more time for those who won’t catch it the first time...the first OFFICIAL. BRANCH.

OFFICIAL.

sensory prompts

“You look like a rose”

“Unfolded before the moon, satin silver and smooth”

“Her pondwater eyes”

“My teeth sunk deep into black flesh”

“His heart’s red river, salted by spite”

“Always the bruised, bitter fruit”

“Flushed apricot cheeks”

“He wore ocean diamonds in his ears”

“Mother-of-pearl and June jasmine”

“The verdant vaulted cathedral of their worship”

“You rose to me ash blackened and new”

“She swallowed tulips”

“Wine-pink waves”

“Your summer-sweet, strawberry puppy love”

“Cool jet deserts, obsidian sand under starstrewn heavens”

“Hollow hands”

“The dewy petals of your shuttered eyes”

“Lily-tender”

“You fell to me like snow”

“Wax-scented night”

matterovermindpodcast

@aslanwrites I found this earlier today! Is this what you were looking for?!

lettersandinkstains

Yes, thank you so much!!!

This prompt list is so beautiful. It reads like a poem <3

Ahh, bless, thank you 💗🌷💫I had fun putting it together

thatwritergirlsblog

Writing advice from the tumblrverse!!!

So, my blog has thus far just been me putting my opinion out there, but I wanted to share some tips from others so that we can all help each other become the best writers we can be :)

So, I asked you guys what piece of writing advice you think everyone should know. Here are the responses:

@rebelwritingwild: Write for yourself. Only when you’ve finished the first draft should you think about other people.

@totaldog: Enjoy the writing process or get out. Nothing else matters because nothing else is guaranteed.

@echo-the-arc-trooper2: Something that took me a while to realize is that it’s okay to kill your characters, sometimes it’s even a good thing, no matter how much you don’t want to

@nixedsims: There is no right way to write. Write in the way that works for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person on the planet who does it that way (but I can assure you, you aren’t) or if all the writing know-it-alls on the internet tells you it’s wrong; if it works, then it works. Period.

@isanyonetoknow: The first draft is basically just getting the words out. It’s an outline you can refer back to, and it’s a process to further figure out your story. It’s not meant to be and it’s not going to be perfect.

@mushmellows: Do not edit on the document. Rewrite. Let it sit for some days, reread, annotate and rewrite taking into account the annotations. That’s how you create a new draft: from scratch.

@lets-write-away: Remain unfiltered in your first draft and be open to your creative side. Write the scenes and ideas you think of often but aren’t sure others would like. Test yourself and your boundaries and your beliefs, explore the corners of your mind without fear of shame or judgment. Because when you remain open and wild in your writing sooo many ideas will come crashing into that skull of yours.

@brokenflashbackgypsy: Read about writing. Blogs, posts, author interviews. Find out what others are doing and how they do it. I have found some great advice and ways to write this way. Also, interact with other writers. Don’t be afraid to obsess about the craft. Obsess about it shamelessly.

@richerthannoir: To quote Neil Gaiman, the second draft is a way to make it look like you knew what you were doing from the start.

@misderlace: Write freely.

@briannacreacts: If you’re trying to just get writing done and not get sucked up into the research black hole, put a funky and rarely used word in its place and then get back to it. I use the word KUMQUAT (I also put it in all caps to make it easier to find visually, too)

@kiingocreative: Mamet’s Creed: What does the character want? Why now? What happens if they don’t get it?

I hope that you guys find these tips useful. Remember, everyone’s voice is important and we can learn from everyone.

thatwritergirlsblog

Acing pacing in your writing

I’ve read too many books and watched too many shows where pacing has ruined a good story. So, here are some of my tips for getting pacing right:

1. Don’t take too long to get to the inciting incident

Look, showing the ordinary life of your protagonist might be interesting if there’s something strange about their life, but readers want stuff to happen.

At least with genre fiction, you shouldn’t take too long to get to the action - the event that gets the story going.

If you can do it well and have readers invested from the start, you can start with the inciting incident. However, for most works I would recommend having it in the second chapter.

Your readers want to know what the story is about, not what the character thinks of his English teacher

2. Keep it moving, but don’t rush

Action is important. It drives the story and it’s interesting. You should make sure to put enough action in your work. Things should be happening.

BUT a novel is not a play or a movie or a comic. What makes reading a full-length novel so entertaining is the detail. The in-depth characterisation and description. The emotion and thought processes.

So, keep it moving, but don’t sacrifice the juicy details. Don’t skip from one action or dialogue scene to the next without taking your readers deeper into the intricacies of the story and characters.

It’s a delicate balance that can only truly be found by reading a lot and practicing.

3. Avoid a sagging middle

Your beginning is solid. Your end is exciting. But the middle is a chaotic mess that bores the reader. Trust me, it happens more than you might believe.

Sagging middle syndrome is a thing, and the only way to avoid it is to plan.

Look, I like pantsing, but planning the middle of your novel will help your pacing exponentially.

Make a rough outline of what needs to happen to get your characters to the climax. Add a few lighter/character-driven scenes where there are too many action scenes in the sequence. Remove events which are unnecessary. And make sure that everything makes sense!

This counts for second books in series as well. It should be good on its own, not just as a filler.

4. Don’t fast forward to the end

I’m looking at you, Game of Thrones.

If you’ve built up the story and set up everything for the final big bang, you have to deliver.

Keep the pacing somewhat similar to that of the rest of the story. Your readers have gotten used to it. And if they’re still reading at that point, they probably like that pace. Don’t write a relatively slow book and then have the climax be over in three pages.

I know you want the climax to be exciting. So, yes, make it a little more fast-paced than the middle. But not massively different.

5. Trust your characters

As with every aspect of creative writing, character is most important.

Is your character experiencing the scene quickly and choppily? Or are they slowing down and taking in everything?

If you stick with what your characters are feeling, you will get it right.

Look, exams have fried my brain. So, this isn’t the most well-formulated post I’ve made. But I hope that it can be helpful.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own pacing tips. Follow me for similar content.

hey do you have any tips on plot development? how to do come up with relevant but dramatic things to keep the plot going? i also don’t want to make it too intense?

I actually have quite a lot of resources that I’ve created over the years surrounding plot development. I’ve linked as many as I could find for you:

Resources For Plot Development

Useful Writing Resources

Useful Writing Resources II

31 Days of Plot Development

Novel Planning 101

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

What To Cut Out Of Your Story

Tackling Subplots

Things A Reader Needs From A Story

A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing

How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story

Planning A Scene In A Story

21 Plot Shapes and the Pros and Cons Of Each

How To Outline Effectively

Tips On Writing Intense Scenes

Writing The First Chapter

Tips On Starting A Scene

Plot Structures

Finding & Fixing Plot Holes

queer-and-nd-coded

I just posting this here because the accuracy hurts

shroud-of-roses

I made a “junk journal” for some inconspicuous witchy things! I used a cardboard box to make the cover, and lots of scrap paper, index cards, and magazine pages to make the inside. There are two signatures (bound paper sets), but one of them is just a bunch of notebook paper for my to record notes, experiences, etc. That would take up too much room on the cool pages I took some pictures of my favourite pages, along with the cover (inside and outside). It’s not perfect, nor very pretty, but I like it so far!

sarasartjournal

Some rainbow pages for pride month ❤️

As some of you might know, I was playing with the idea of making small (junk) journals that were inspired by ASOUE.

This is my first attempt! (I still have to make some ‘eye symbol’ drawings and/or journal cards, they will be added later)

I am so excited to make more actually, they’re so fun to make! I have a video of the whole inside, so if peopke want me to post that; let me know and I will post the video😊

How to Get Started Smash Booking When You’re Broke

Since some of my most popular posts are about my smash book I figured I’d make a little tutorial post about how to smash book on a budget and show what’s in my box that I keep my smash booking supplies in!

Long post ahead under the cut!

The Box:

it’s nothing really pretty to be honest, but I might decorate it in the future. I work in an ice cream shop and I snagged it there before it was thrown in the recycling bin lmao. I’d recommend something pretty big. I know some people use photo album boxes to keep their stuff in, but I prefer this because I can keep everything in it and my stuff is relatively contained and not spread out everywhere around my house.

“Backgrounds”:

I know the point of a smash book is the patterned pages, but I often like to put down tissue paper, leftover wrapping paper, paper bags, etc. just to tie things together a little bit. I never buy this stuff, it’s all recycled from other things I get (like most things I smash book, as you’ll find out if you read the rest of this post lmao), it’s cheaper and it makes things a little more sentimental that way too!

Pretty Paper:

I do buy scrapbooking paper from time to time, but I only do when it’s on sale or under $5. Pages from catalogs (like the Lush one pictured) can often be used here too! Take advantage of free stuff.

Stickers!:

Stickers are one of my favorite things. I buy most of mine from the dollar store and the clearance aisle at craft stores. There are also lots of places to buy them for really cheap on etsy! Be sure to check that out too! Letter stickers in particular can be really useful and I suggest getting some of those and building up a collection c:

Die Cuts:

Basically the same thing as stickers as for what I have to say about them. I have a lot of them tbh… But clearance aisles, dollar stores, and specifically the Target dollar spot are really good places to check out.

Sentimental Things - and the most important thing - Trash:

(no picture because I’ve used up most of what I have in this section) Obviously the bulk of your stuff in your smash book is going to be with things you get while out and about and doing things. My best advice for this section is to not throw stuff away. Save pretty wrappers. Save receipts. Save pictures and postcards and letters and maps, basically just anything you find that makes you happy or is tied to a good memory or you think looks cool! My friends all think I’m a pack rat because of my smash book tbh.

The best thing to do to get started smash booking is to get out of the house and do stuff, and to find beauty in little things while out and about. Press flowers! Take pictures! Save receipts and wrappers! Smash booking doesn’t have to be expensive at all, it’s all about using what you have and arranging it strategically so it looks cool. That’s it!

So thanks for reading this whole thing! Hope you got something out of this and either keep on or start smash booking!!

twinklesbrightly

I made my very first junk journal! I followed @goblinblogging‘s tutorial for the most part as well as various YouTube videos. It took me two days and I had a lot of fun. Now to figure out what I’m going to fill it with lol (also i already want to make another one lol)

That looks so amazing! Great job!

rins-forget-me-knots

never need to buy a journal again when you can make a cool af one like this. love the rainbow binding btw op

on my shop!

Hey Goblins, uh

Did you know, that you can make an AWESOME journal for your adventures ALL ON YOUR OWN from a cereal box and paper/scraps that you likely have at home/can get from friends or family/you may find around your environment?

They’re called Junk Journals and they’re my entire life.

Im gonna do my best to walk you through how to make one! First, get you a mini cereal box! I use boxes from those cool multipacks of cereal that you can find at Walmart!

And then cut it out so it looks like this! (I already had one cut, so I’m gonna use that)

That “nutrition facts” side is gone become your spine!

Next, find some paper to use to decorate your cover! I was lucky enough to be gifted a bunch of scrapbooking paper, so I’m gonna use that, but you can also use newspaper, paper from books/magazines, junk mail, napkins, paper towels (excellent texture), etc!

Go ahead and glue that paper to your box (to cover the cereal logo) and cut it out! It’ll look like this;

Next you need to find your pages! Again these can be anything! Junk mail, envelopes, receipts, food wrappers, magazine/book pages, scrapbook paper, computer paper, construction paper, ANYTHING. Just grab a whole bunch!

You’re gonna want to fold them in half and cut them to the size of one of the covers of your box, and layer other pages inside of it to make your signatures, like this!

Each signature should be about 7-10 pages. You don’t want them too thick, otherwise the inner pages start sticking out when folded in half. You’re gonna have a LOT of these signatures, as you wanna fill the area in the spine as best as possible. For this one I’m using 7 page signatures. Here’s a pic to show just how much paper you’ll need

Each of these signatures are 7 pages, 6 signatures have only filled about half of the spine, so I’ll need probably 6 more.

Next you gotta figure out how you want them in your journal. Personally, I like to sew them into the spine, but you can also keep them in the spine with rubber bands, so you can have removable pages! (Be weary that rubber bands may break over time! So you may want to always keep extra bands near it to replace in case one snaps. This is why I prefer sewing them in) I find it best to look up on YouTube how to sew in signatures, just because having someone walk you through it where you can see what they’re doing is easiest. If you can’t access YouTube, there’s plenty of text tutorials on how to sew in signatures online, or you can message me! I’m not gonna go too into detail, but here’s the jist;

Okay so I’m a forgetful gob and I hecken forgot to take pictures as I was going along kahshshshsh

But essentially, I sewed in the pattern similar to the one I drew. The dots are where the needle goes all the way through to the back. I also like to use rubber band as an extra mode of support but you can do one or the other. I also like both cuz I can tuck stuff in em between the pages. Since I didn’t take more pictures; I’d really recommend looking up a how-to on YouTube or w/e if my badly drawn diagram isn’t clear enough (heh sorry about that)

Next, I glue fabric to the spine. It spruces it up quite a lot and holds the rubber bands in place, plus it give more support to the spine since there’s gonna be a lot of strain on it.

Only 10 photos per post, so I gotta post this and reblog it with the rest.

Here’s the journal with the fabric on the spine, I decided to go ahead and glue the excess to the rest of the cover too, cuz I liked how it looked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Next step?

DECORATE the pages! I haven’t decorated this one yet, but here’s some pages I have completed!

Have fun with it! Make tuck spots and hideaways. Add folders and envelopes and make tags and things that dangle. Decorate the covers and the spine and make it your own! Add things as you find them! Anything! Even candy wrappers! This is really the ultimate goblin journal!

I hope y’all enjoyed this mini tutorial =3

Honestly @gayestgoth I’m not sure how you don’t think it’s goblin. In my opinion, using garbage to make something cool is very goblin. And not only that, you can make these with ANYTHING.

Here’s one where I decorated the cover with actual leaves

I regularly use materials and litter that I find while out in the woods. I pick up all sorts of paper, receipts, scraps, cloth, advertisements, broken beer bottles, etc to use in my journals. And because I’m picking these things up, there’s less litter in the woods. PLUS I’m recycling. And I press plants into them.

Half chewed papers? Go for it! I set the corners of pages on fire before cuz I liked the burnt look! (Do with caution) chew ya own papers! Make it unique!

And shinies?

I’ve got plenty! I use all kinds of clips, wire, beads, buttons, pins, coins, etc in my journals. Half of which, I find in the garbage.

Hell,

I found the upholstery fabric I used for the cover of this journal in the garbage!

So how is this goblin?

How is it not?

lillimer-the-glitter-lover

Still working on mine! Theres 140 paged and i sewed them in with rainbow thread and im gonna glue that belt on as a fastener! I broke and used printer paper but I’ll junk it up i promise!

frappuccinostudies

i am a journal junkie. a blank journal is an open door, to any realm you should choose. here are some ways you can fill the empty notebooks you have sitting on your desk. i do not claim all of these ideas of my own, only one is actually an original idea - as usual, original ideas are marked with an asterisk (*). i did my best with a brief summary to what a journal of each type may include but there is no right way to journal- feel free to customize each to suit your needs. anyways, here we go…

i. daily journal

dear diary…

ii. bullet journal

to do list of sorts… a whole other post is needed to explain this.

iii. prompt journal

this is great for writers that are lacking inspiration, or can’t write a lot everyday. find journaling prompts online (pinterest is a good place to start) and try to write for one prompt each day.

iv. art journal

these can be sort of like an illustrated diary or a place to keep any art that you create. people sometimes sketch/paint the pages, tape in pictures, sew the pages, etc.

v. brain dump journal

just fill this journal with anything and everything that comes to mind. lists, ideas, things you need to do, literally anything. it is a brain dump after all…

vi. junk journal

this is the category where a smashbook would fall under. basically, you know all those ticket stubs and receipts and things that you should throw away but don’t want to? this is the place to put these items. i’d call this a type of scrapbooking, but it requires less time and effort.

vii. dream journal

this is exactly what it sounds like… a place to quickly (or not) write down any details you can remember of the dream you had the previous night. one may illustrate things, but it is primarily a summary of what you dreamt.

viii. collage/moodboard journal

cut out pictures from magazines or whatever and glue them in… these can be in the typical collage style… messy, or in a moodboard (grid-ish) style. each page (or spread) can have a theme or it can just be purely random.

ix. book journal

keep track of things like books you’ve read (& what you thought), books you want to read, books you’ve lent out or borrowed, book challenges, a paper accounting of your personal library, etc. this could also be used for movies!!

x. travel journal

use this to keep track of where you travel and your experiences on your adventures. you can junk journal this by sticking in postcards or other mementos that you obtain on your trips. some keep day-to-day accounts of everything they did each day on a vacation.

xi. *people journal

this is a collection i have in my bujo for dudes i have interest in lol, but i could (and may) easily turn this into an entire journal. it’s basically a record of significant (or not) people in your life. things i list are their names, the date and how i met them, their birthday & zodiac sign, and just a summary on who they are to me and experiences we’ve had together, etc.

xii. spiritual journal

this depends on what your faith looks like. for me, a witch, it would be a grimoire or book of shadows. for a theistic believer, this could be prayers, sections of text from whatever Book you follow, etc.

xiii. gratitude journal

many bujo-ists keep monthly gratitude logs, but why not turn this into an entire journal? each day, write a or a few things that you’re grateful for.

xiv. ready-made journals

any journal that has a singular purpose that you can buy at the store to work in. examples: wreck this journal, listography, smashbook.

omg I have a million journals and notebooks, time to actually give them names and purposes

An Aspiring Writer With A Fuckton Of Work Ahead @writemeshitpoemsplz - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag