The current (new) Writer Zero

[kibberswrites]

Look, the writeblr thing isn’t for every writer out there. I’ve tried it. My posts on writing don’t gain traction. I can’t make fancy mood boards, discord groups move way too fast for me, excerpts of mine get little interest, and, most importantly, I don’t have anything new to say about writing. Does that suck sometimes? Sure. But, at the end of the day, it’s fine!

I’ll keep writing. I won’t concern myself with making it marketable to this platform. I’ll submit to agents. Maybe one day, I’ll be published. Maybe not. But, really, most of the population isn’t on Tumblr which means most of your future readers aren’t on Tumblr either. They don’t give a shit if you can make a meme out of your ocs or overlay snow on a mood board. They care about your story.

So, while it might be nice to have people really excited about my work, it’s the work that’s the important part. So what if this community isn’t for you! So what if people aren’t sending you dozens of asks about your ocs! Just write, man. It’ll find the right people. You’ll find the right people. But, you’ve got to write it first and worrying about how to gain followers on here is only going to get in the way of that.

[largishcat]

As a fic writer, i need every reader to know that:

I don’t care if your comment is coherent. I know what you mean and i love you

I don’t care if you ramble. I read every word and i love you

I don’t care if you leave a comment on a fic from four years ago or leave comments/kudos on like ten of my fics in one go. This isn’t IG, pls stalk my AO3. I love you

I don’t care if you mention the same thing in your comment that four other people have already mentioned. It’s actually really useful to know what resonated with people and I love everyone who takes the time to tell me they liked a particular turn of phrase

I don’t mind if your comment is super long or just a couple of sentences, i love them all

I love you

[writeouswriter]

[writer-zero]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! What's something about your WIP/OCs you love to talk about but are seldom asked?

Thank you for another ask! This one goes for Grimm Tales too!

I love talking about the group dynamics of Team Ariel. Team Tomato too, but they don’t appear in the story for long enough for their relationships to become more established.

Everyone and their mother says that a group should rarely be larger than 3, because with 3, you can still have conversations, while in a group of 4, someone constantly feels left out and doesn’t contribute much. I can’t say how often this happens, but if it does, it’s intentional, because it’s most likely Robin, who is naturally more of a listener than someone like Alexander who constantly has something to add to the conversation.

This one popped to mind first, but there are dozens of other little details and writing techniques that I sometimes wonder if people notice. It’s all right if they don’t, though, the average reader probably notices them subconsciously, and that’s better than having it stand out like a sore thumb!

[writer-zero]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! What was your wip's cast like when they were younger? Are they embarrassed about who they used to be? How have they grown?

Thank you for sending this ask! Tumblr never notified me, grr!

Also I’ve been holding back on updates, but I actually have at least two new WIPs that I have to introduce to y’all! I’m also working hard on Grimm Tales V2, so I guess I could spill some secrets on that ;P

Alexander spent his childhood messing around with his younger brother Simon. They are so far down the line of succession in their family that they were more or less overlooked and could do whatever they wanted. Whenever he could sneak away from his tutors, Markos joined them often too! He misses those days now that due to Euclid and Markos leaving the family, he is now the new successor and his family is working him hard to make up for lost time. He still sneaks away to play with Simon whenever he has the time.

Robin is the oldest of three in a village with a greying old Huntsman, so he volunteered to be taken under his wing. He picked a bow as his weapon so he could do double duty on patrols and also hunt some food for his family. He can’t wait to finish his official training so he can return home, where everything is so much more peaceful.

Ismene is an only child, so she was trained hard to become the next owner of the family dojo, which she certainly doesn’t miss. After an event that alienated her from most of her family she was given a Halberd twice her size and sent away from home to become a Huntress. She hates the training, but loves the new environment and her new friends she wouldn’t have met otherwise. With their help, she gains confidence in her abilities and exceeds the talents she would’ve developed at home.

Leiah’s backstory is more or less a huge spoiler. All I can say is that once she grows to like these bafoons, she would rather never go back home.

Thank you again for sending this ask! I’ll answer the one from last week next, so stay tuned!

[writing-for-the-stars-and-moon]

I don’t know what writeblr needs to hear this, but the best thing I did with my writing is get rid of negativity.  

And I don’t mean this in a way of not acknowledging your frustration or anger or anything.  But mean this in a way of taking care of yourself, cultivating your dash, and watching your mindset.

For me, watching my mindset is really hard.  It’s difficult to change a pattern of thoughts from “my writing sucks” to “I’m still learning and growing and that’s ok”.  It makes a difference though.  I look forward to writing and interacting with writeblr more.

I’d also suggest cultivating your dash.  I can’t handle a lot of negativity in my life as I deal with a lot on a daily basis (not to mention my depression).  I don’t reblog posts anymore that talk about how shit writing is or how tiring it is unless it has a good ending or goal.  Otherwise, I feel like I’m inviting negativity and changing my dash with more positive posts has really helped with changing my mindset.  

Most importantly, you need to take care of yourself.  Maybe this cultivating and slow change works for you.  Maybe it doesn’t.  But always make sure you eat and hydrate and take a little time for yourself throughout the day.  

I love you all and I look forward to seeing the stories you create!  Go!  Have fun!  Take joy in your worlds and OCs!  Even the tortured ones.  

[howelldaniel]

There’s a fic on fanfiction(.)net that I’ve kept tabs on for years to see if it’s been updated or not. While I’m no longer even in the fandom it’s written for, it just has one of the greatest storylines I’ve ever read. Last time it was updated was 2011.

The other day, I decided to reread the entire thing and leave a very in-depth review of what I thought of each chapter. I also mentioned how I started reading it when I was 13 and am now 21, but always came back to see if it was ever finished because I loved it so dearly.

Today, said author sent me a private message saying that her analytics showed that the story was still getting views even after all these years, but no one ever bothered to leave reviews other than “update soon!!!”, so she never felt motivated enough to finish it. She said that me reviewing every single chapter with lengthy paragraphs made her cry and meant the world to her. She also mentioned that she felt encouraged to write the two remaining chapters needed to complete the story and that she would send me a message the night before she updates the fic.

I’m literally sobbing. I’m so excited :’)

Please always remember to leave a review when reading fanfiction!!! It means a lot to a writer.

[thesparkles59-deactivated201811]

Seriously, this is what keeps us going; YOUR COMMENTS. 

[ashleyfanfic]

And you think my ranting about it is just being salty! It’s not! Reviews can mean the difference between feeling motivated and feeling out of place.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

It’s how I finished a fic after it sitting unfinished for half a year. Got a long ass review that gave me ideas and then I wrote the last chapter.

[softestvirgil]

This is so true and so important

[dean-cas-in-the-impala]

This is why I always ask my readers to leave comments. You don’t understand how important it is.

[wckhamm]

Art doesn’t happen in a vacuum, y’all. Feedback is the Most Important part of the creative process.

[hezenkoss]

my art may never be as good as i want it to be, but i have hands and a pencil and i will make that everyone else’s problem

[merry-madness]

👆 excellent art and writing advice to live by

[chandra-telescope]

Hello it’s Storyteller Saturday again! Reblog this, I want to flood everyone with questions

[tast3of1nk]

hi there,, could you please reply to or reblog this post if you’d be open to being tagged in tag games by me? i rlly want to get back into doing them but i’m always worried about annoying ppl who don’t want to be tagged ♡

[pheita]

Memo to everybody :

Never be afraid to recycle an idea you had for a WIP you abandoned. Sometimes the idea needs a different set of characters or a different setting.

[bookishdiplodocus]

Adding:

Never be afraid to recycle an idea you already used for a finished WIP. Sometimes the idea becomes different enough with a different set of characters or a different setting. And even if it doesn't, this idea may be your personal style, one of your defining themes or writing characteristics.

Like: you don't look at Tolkien and go, "Here he is again with the elves and the languages."

[michaelbjorkwrites]

Fun fact: Oscar Wilde would straight up reuse witty one liners he loved from his previously published works.

If he could get away with reusing verbatim lines, I say go hog wild reusing ideas from abandoned WIPs.

[jaywrote]

Hey a shoutout to

Autistic writers who have trouble writing conversations due to difficulty with social skills

ADHD writers who want to sit down and write but can’t get themself to do it

Writers with social anxiety that are scared to share their work or talk about it with others

Writers with memory problems that know they already had an idea for a plot point but can’t recall what it was

Depressed writers that are trying their best but their mind says it isn’t enough

Dyslexic writers that have red lines under so many of their words or that have to take extra time to try and communicate their ideas

Writers with DID/OSSD that don’t feel like they get enough time to work on their project or that it gets left on the shelf for long period of time

Spoonie writers that run out of spoons for a day before they get to work on their project

Writers with tourettes who’s tics get in the way of their writing

Mentally Ill writers in general

Disabled writers in general

Writing is already hard as heck and having to deal with mental/body stuff on top of it can make it harder. We/Y’all are so strong and badass for keeping on doing this even when dealing with all of our own stuff!

[snarky-bee]

I think another problem with the mindset of kudos/comments on AO3 is part of the “stalking” culture on instagram. If you like a picture that is months old on instagram, its “insta-stalking” because you had to scroll through that person’s profile in order to find those months-old pictures. That is NOT how AO3 works. It’s not cringe or embarrassing to find a fic that was posted in 2012 and like it. It is there to read. 

Same for works on AO3. Sure, maybe some of us have some old works that aren’t up to our current standards of writing. But I, personally, am never going to look at a kudos email and think “ew omg I can’t believe someone found this fic from 2016 why are they liking it”. In fact, I am entirely going to go “nice! people are still reading some of my older works too, I’m glad they enjoyed it”. It’s an archive, it is meant to be a collection of transformative works, old and new, and you are meant to find them. 

In fact, if you find a work that is from five years ago and you really liked it? I bet the author would love a comment even then.

Stories are written to be read. 

Show some appreciation.

[barbex]

Writers write to be read!

Older stories need love just as new ones. Please don’t let stories and chapters die of neglect after one fucking week!

[elfwreck]

I got a comment a couple of months ago for a nearly-10-years-old crackfic and I was thrilled! 

Part of why there’s sortable searches at AO3 is to let you find fics for a now-dormant fandom, fics that are no longer canon-compliant after the new episodes, fics that work with fanon tropes that are no longer popular, fics from authors who are no longer actively writing… and just fics that weren’t written recently. 

Comments on old fics are great! Often, they bring back a rush of memories for the author - oh wow, I remember when I was obsessing about this fandom, how much I loved this pairing, the fics I read that inspired this fic! 

[just-a-jumbled-writer]

One of the most toxic pieces of writing “advice” I have ever gotten, bar none, is “real writers write every day!”

And yet I see it touted constantly by writers and those who support writers, often bringing up the example of “Steven King writes 8 hours every day!” 

Here’s my counter-advice to anyone and everyone who has heard this “real writers write every day” crap. 

It’s a lie. It’s an absolute, outright lie, to say someone can write every single day without fail. Even the people who do it professionally take breaks. Even the people whose entire livelihoods are based on the written word will take time out and just relax. And that’s not even bringing up writer’s block or anything similar to it, or just feeling like you don’t want to write today. 

That’s all okay. I’ve spent weeks not writing before getting back to it, I’ve dropped projects and started them months later under new names, I’ve done all manner of things that so flagrantly fly in the face of the statement “real writers write every day” that frankly, for a long time, I started to think I wasn’t a real writer.

But that’s bullshit. You can take a break for any reason. Depression, work, illness, and and so forth may actively stop you from writing. You could spend time with your loved ones, or playing video games, or cuddling a dog, or going out to a bar, and choose to not write. That doesn’t make you a fake writer, it just makes you a human. 

“Real writers write every day” is, and always will be, a lie. Don’t fall for it.

[the960writers]

A writer has to write, yes, and often too. But there is no universal law that you have to do it every day. There is more to life than staring at words on a screen. As Daniel Jose Older has said: 

“Writing begins with forgiveness. Let go of the shame about how long it’s been since you last wrote, the clenching fear that you’re not a good enough writer, the doubts over whether or not you can get it done. Sure, the nagging demons will come creeping back, but set them aside anyway, and then set them aside again when they do.”

[whicheverwarrior]

The first rule of writing is hoard notebooks

[raevenlywrites]

The second rule of writing is we do not write in our notebook hoard

[zulu-bunsen]

[mens-rights-activia]

This is earth shattering, I can’t believe there are people, who don’t think in sentences??? What the fuck is an abstract non-verbal thot? Y’all hoes think in Pictionary???? What the fuck

[writer-zero]

I have experience with both, and the difference is basically that non-verbal thoughts are instantaneous, and are equal parts vague and certain - vague because they're instantaneous and sometimes pass withiut me aknowledging them, and certain because when I do acknowledge them by verbalizing them in my head I know exactly what they meant to convey.

For people who can't imagine having non-verbal thought processes. :)

[writeouswriter]