Writing memes & tips

Hi! This is an account with various tips for writing given by me. Question inbox: Open|

[writing-memes-and-tips]

Small reminder for all writers out there

By writing_memes_and_tips on Instagram

Hi! This his a small reminder for every writer out there struggling with writing their WIP: It’s okay to take breaks. It’s okay to set some space between you your current WIP and focus on other things.

Every now and then, you just need some space. I myself have a Naruto fanfiction project I’ve been on since the summer of 2018 (so for a good 2 years now). The first book in the series was written smoothly, with like 60K words, written within 6 months. The second book, however, was much more challenging. My original character had a story of their own that was separate from Naruto’s story, the canon main character of the series, about 80% of the time. I had to fill plot in for a lot of canon arcs that my OC had nothing to do with.

It became exhausting after a while. As I was writing the last few chapters, I found myself struggling with following the final arc of the story, embing the canon with my own story. When writing the final chapter, a massive writers block hit me. My writing was shit- I wrote paragraphs and paragraphs but the plot hardly advanceed. When reaching about 3.4K words,I realised- This was not good. I needed to fix this not by just ‘pushing through’. I needed to rewrite.

So, I began rewriting and writing felt so much better and smoother. So if you’re struggling with a certain chapter/part of the story and you feel like a break isn’t the thing you need, the best thing you could do is start over with that part. It’s not like you’re going to lose much, so don’t worry. You already know what’‘s supposed to happen, and while rewriting, you’ll have a better sense of what you need to fix.

[writing-memes-and-tips]

Writing minorities, ethnicities and groups of people

By Writing_memes_and_tips on Instagram

Ok so you know the whole trend of include minorities, include people of colour, include LGBTQ+ people and cultures in your books, right?

Here’s the thing. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I support it only if you do it correctly. I feel like people in that group deserve a proper and accurate representation in the media, and not the stereotypes that are glued to them.

It hurts when your nation and culture is brought into the media in a manner thats so far from the truth. Here are my tips for it:

-Research, research, research. Google it, ask someone who knows a lot about it, anything that promises you accurate information.

-Be open for advice. If someone who’s part of those communities is reading your books and they give you some feedback on where you can improve when bringing their communityto light, listen.

-Not everyone will like it and there’ll always be someone who’s not happy. I’m not saying that you should listen to everyone’s opinions, but if you do a genuine hard work with proper research, you’re be fine.

[writing-memes-and-tips]

Characters suffering

By writing_memes_and_tips on instagram

Hi! So, every writer knows the memes about how writers make their characters suffering, rihgt? I’m sure many writers like to make their character go through things. We all do. But there are moments when an author gives their character(s) excessive suffering. Here are some questions to know if your book really needs that suffering.

-Does it make your plot move on usefully? If yes, go for it! If no, reconsider it.

-Does it give your character grow character development? It can turn them good or evil, but if changes your character along with the next story arc, go for it!

-Does it make a change? Does it change your character’s views on something, or it brings a shocking revealing? If so, it’s a good choice.

Basically, if it makes a significant change in the story and helps the plot move on, it’s absoluetly fine and reccomended to do so. If you write some pain just for the sake of drama and/or fanservice, I don’t reccomend it at all

[writing-memes-and-tips]

How to plan a story.

By writing_tips_and_memes on IG

After I started writing, I made up the plot as I went. As you probably already know, it doesn’t work well.

Make it clear who the main character(s) is/are. It’s important to know who you’re writing about.

What are your main characters background? It’s very important to know where they come from. Do they have any relatives or friends? Do they have a love interest?

What are your character’s goals? Even if it might not be crucial for the story, what do the characters wish for? Do they have a dream?

What are the character’s weaknesses? We all have weaknesses. What are your characters’ weaknesses and flaws?

What do you want your story to be about? What path do you want your character to follow? Do they make any mistakes along the way?

After you know these things, you can go on and make some plot checkpoints in the story. Basically, after you get a big image of your story, you write down some things that’ll happen in the story. After that, you can take your time to fill in the gaps between.

Take your time during this process. There’s no hurry. Remember, quality beats quantity.

[writing-memes-and-tips]

Show vs. Telling

By @writing_memes_and-tips on Instagram

I'd like to take a look at the whole showing vs telling debate/advice in writing.

Did you ever come across a book with paragraphs so long, going on and on in excruciating pain about the same thing, that you closed the book and planned to never open it again? That might as well be a case of showing too much.

But have you ever come across a book seemed very bland, with no detail and where you feel like you can't connect with the characters? That’s too little showing and telling?

Now, how about a book where, even though the author gives you all the information necessary, you still can’t feel like connecting to the character because all the information is all dumped on you in big measures and in little time?  That might be a book wth too much telling.

Now, I remember seeing this post somewhere, and it said something along the lines of, show emotion, tell situation. So for example, if your character is excited or taken aback, describe it. If your character simply feels tired, tell that. Would you rather read 3-4 sentences about how your character  feels about a particular event or situation, or 3-4 sentences about how they’re really tired and that they can hardly keep their eyes open?

Now, I’m sure you’ve seen those books that were written poetically as they described the smallest actions, right? Here’s a way how to do it:

1. Don’t rush the scene. Seriously, look for the right amount of writing that feels right. I reccomend a paragraph.

2. Use methapors. Act as if the suroundings have life, as if those fairy tales you once read were true, as if magic truly exists.

3. Don’t be afraid to try and write. Be provocative, say things that were never said, don’t be afraid to stand out. If you write something, even if it doesn’t rise to your wishes, at least you have something. Writing nothing because you’re afraid will give you nothing but more anxiety.

[writing-memes-and-tips]

Things I wish I would've known when I started writing

By @writing_memes_and_tips on Instagram.

Don't write what people want to read. Write what you want to read.

A book takes lots of time and effort. You need patience, lots of willpower to go on and an open mind for criticism.

Speaking of criticism, not everyone will like your book. Focus on those who like your book and be open for constructive criticism. Most of the times, it opens your eyes to things you might've not noticed.

Make sure to know the difference between (constructive) criticism and hate. Constructive criticism will be generally brought to you in a respectful manner, as the person who tells your their opinion talks about both positive and negative things. Plain criticism and hate will always be rude and focused on the bad things.

It's absolutely fine if the words don't always flow. Mastering the art of writing takes many years, and every writer is different. Practice as often as you can (Daily or almost daily), and even if you don't notice it now, in a year or two your writing will improve so much!

Don't stress if your book doesn't look like the image in your head. It might be a first draft, or maybe some things didn't make sense to what you already wrote. It's okay to leave some things behind or to add some things.

Join a writing group! There are many online and offline writing groups where you get to speak to other aspiring authors. It honestly helped me alot! I made new friends and I always had someone to reach out to when I needed advice with writing.

If you publish your book on an online writing site line Wattpad, Fanfiction.net, AO3 and so on, chances are that your book won't get noticed at first. It takes time until people discover it.

If you want to have an engaged reader, make sure to split your text in paragraphs and to have a proper, well-cared spelling and grammar. No paragraphs and a messy spelling and grammar puts many potential readers off.

It's okay to take a break from writing every now and then. May it be that you need to think more of the plot, you're preparing for editing/rewriting it, school or your job eats up your time, soul and energy, or maybe you just need to rest for a bit!

Write what you're comfortable with. If you're anything like me and you don't feel comfortable writing sex scenes (also known as smut to any fellow fanfiction fans), don't write it. It'll come out as awkward and rushed, and it will give off an unpleasant vibe to the readers.

If you're writing non-fiction, do as much research as you can! If it's about, say, slavery in America, reach out to someone who knows a lot about it, if possible! Basically, if you can, reach out to people who know a lot about the topic you're writing about.

Lastly for this post, yes, fanfiction is valid. You don't have to write normal fiction to call yourself a writer!