a writer's guide to adhd

writing advice blog

[judasrpc]

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

What’s the lie your character says most often?

How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?

Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen?

What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?

Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

When do they fake a smile? How often?

How do they put out a candle?

What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?

What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?

What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?

How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?

When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?

If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?

How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?

How do they greet someone they like / love?

What is the smallest, morally questionable choice they’ve made?

Who do they keep in their life for professional gain? Is it for malicious intent?

What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?

What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?

Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?

How do they respond to a loose handshake? What goes through their head?

What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?

What language would be easiest for them to learn? Why?

What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?

Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do?

Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?

What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?

What’s a phrase they say a lot?

Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

Who would / do they believe without question?

What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

[inky-duchess]

Yes please 💜

[niseamstories]

I took some historical sword-ighting lessons to make the fight scenes in my novel more realistic - here’s what I learned.

To make the fighting scenes in my low fantasy novel more realistic, I went to see a trainer for historical sword-fighting last week, both to barrage her with questions and to develop realistic choreographies for the fight scenes in the novel. Since I figured some of what she told me might be useful for you too, I put together a small list for you. Big thanks to Gladiatores Munich and Jeanne for making time! (Here are some more pictures if you’re interested.)

Caveat: I’m by no means a sword-fighting expert myself, so take these nuggets with a grain of salt – I might have misremembered or misinterpreted some of the things Jeanne told me. If I did, feel free to tell me.

1.) Weapon choices need to make sense

Let’s start with a truism: always ensure your character’s weapons make sense for a.) their profession, b.) their cultural background and c.) the environment they’re going to fight in. A farmer probably couldn’t afford a sword and might use a knife or threshing flail instead, and someone who doesn’t want to be noticed probably wouldn’t be milling about sporting a glaive or another large weapon. Also, soldiers native to a country with wide open plains would be more likely to carry long-range melee weapons such as spears or large swords, than those from a country consisting of mostly jungle or dense forests. The same applies to situations: if your character is going to be fighting in close quarters (even just a normal house), he’d get little value out of a spear or even a longsword, as there’d be no space to swing it effectively.

2.) Boldness often beats skill

In real swordfights, recklessness was often more important than skill. The fighter who was less afraid of getting hurt or wounded would often push harder, allowing them to overpower even more skilled enemies.

3.) Even a skilled fighter rarely stands a chance when outnumbered

While a skilled (or lucky) fighter might win a two-versus-one, it’d be extremely unlikely for even a single master swordsman to win against superior numbers, even just three and if they’re below his skill level. The only way to plausibly pull this off would be to split the opponents up, perhaps by luring them into a confined space where you could take them on one by one. The moment you’re surrounded, you’re probably done for – because, unlike in Hollywood, they wouldn’t take turns attacking but come at you all at once.

4.) Dual wielding was a thing

… at least in some cultures. I often heard people say that people using a weapon in each hand is an invention of fiction. And while my instructor confirmed that she knew of no European schools doing this—if they did, it’s not well-documented—she said it was a thing in other cultures. Example of this include the dual wakizashi in Japan or tomahawk and knife in North America. However, one of the biggest problems with the depiction of dual wielding in novels/movies/games are the “windmill”-type attacks where the fighter swings their weapons independently, hitting in succession rather than simultaneously. Normally you’d always try hitting with both weapons at once, as you’d otherwise lose your advantage.

5.) Longswords were amazing

Longswords might seem boring in comparison to other weapons, but they were incredibly effective, especially in combat situations outside the battlefield. The crossguard allowed for effective blocking of almost any kind of attack (well, maybe not an overhead strike of a Mordaxt, but still), the pommel was also used as a powerful “blunt” weapon of its own that could crack skulls. Though they were somewhat less effective against armored opponents, the long, two-handed hilt allowed for precise thrusts at uncovered body parts that made up for it.

6.)  “Zweihänder” were only used for very specific combat situations

Zweihänder—massive two-handed swords—were only used for specific purposes and usually not in one-on-one combat as is often seen in movies or games. One of these purposes was using their reach to break up enemy formations. In fact, one type of two-handed sword even owed its name to that purpose: Gassenhauer (German, Gasse = alley, Hauer = striker)—the fighters literally used it to strike “alleys” into an enemy formation with wide, powerful swings.

7.) It’s all about distance

While I was subconsciously aware of this, it might be helpful to remember that distance was an incredibly important element in fights. The moment your opponent got past your weapons ideal range, it was common to either switch to a different weapon or just drop your weapon and resort to punching/choking. A good example of this are spears or polearms—very powerful as long as you maintain a certain range between you and your opponent, but the moment they get too close, your weapon is practically useless. That’s also why combatants almost always brought a second weapon into battle to fall back one.

8.) Real fights rarely lasted over a minute

Another truism, but still useful to remember: real fights didn’t last long. Usually they were over within less than a minute, sometimes only seconds – the moment your opponent landed a hit (or your weapon broke or you were disarmed), you were done for.

9.) Stop the pirouettes

Unfortunately, the spinning around and pirouetting that makes many fight scenes so enjoyable to watch (or read) is completely asinine. Unless it’s a showfight, fighters would never expose their backs to their opponent or even turn their  weapon away from them.

10.)  It still looks amazing

If your concern is that making your fight scenes realistic will make them less aesthetic, don’t worry. Apart from the fact that the blocks, swings and thrusts still look impressive when executed correctly, I personally felt that my fights get a lot more gripping and visceral if I respect the rules. To a certain extent, unrealistic and flashy combat is plot armor. If your characters can spin and somersault to their heart’s content and no one ever shoves a spear into their backs as they would have in real life, who survives and who doesn’t noticeably becomes arbitrary. If, on the other hand, even one slip-up can result in a combatant’s death, the stakes become really palpable.

That’s about it! I hope this post is as helpful to some of you as the lessons were to me. Again, if anything I wrote here is bollocks, it’s probably my fault and not Jeanne’s.  I’ll try to post more stuff like this in the future.

Cheers,

Nicolas

[werewolfism]

WIKIPEDIA MONSTER COMPILATION PAGES FOR PEOPLE

japanese creatures

greek creatures

creatures organised by type

creatures listed by letter

humanoid creatures

filipino creatures

chinese creatures

cryptids

‘fearsome critters’

angels

beings referred to as fairies

creatures that pretend to be human

a page on therianthropic creatures

shapeshifters

hybrid creatures

extraterrestrial creatures

deities

a page of mythology page links

a section of folklore page links

flying creatures

theological demons

fictional species lists

mythology related lists

legendary creature related lists

[escapetoluna]

On average, there are about 250 - 300 words per page in a book. 

I’ve written 2,355 words today which is roughly 7-9 pages of a book. 

If you’ve written 250 words, that’s still a whole page of a book, and that’s bloody brilliant.

And even if you haven’t written any words at all today, you’re still doing fantastic because you have a story in your head, characters, an idea.

There is so much more to being a writer than a word count.

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Testing out popular (FREE) writing hacks

There are a lot of writing hacks floating around, tips that are supposed to increase your writing productivity. Well, I tested them, and here are my thoughts:

1. Use Comic Sans

Let’s be honest. When we were in primary school, we typed EVERYTHING in Comic Sans. However, as we got older and more professional, Comic Sans appeared childish and we stopped using it.

Ask anyone what the most unprofessional font is and they’ll probably answer: Comic Sans MS

However, earlier this year the idea of using Comic Sans when writing your first draft started popping up and now, a lot of writers are swearing by it.

So, did it increase my productivity?

YES

I started writing a scene in Comic Sans and I wrote about five pages in like 30 minutes. The words just flowed. I don’t know why this font increases writing productivity, but if it works, I don’t really care why.

So, I would 100% recommend trying Comic Sans for your first draft. Remember, no one’s going to see it. And it’s pretty easy to change back to something like Times New Roman once you’ve finished a scene.

2. Dictation

I’ve heard a lot of professional authors rave about how much time they save by dictating their first drafts. However, a lot of dictation software and microphones are quite expensive. So, I tried the free alternatives at my disposal.

The latest version of OneNote, which comes included in a lot of Microsoft Office packages, now has a dictation feature. I know this isn’t technically free, but it was for me, since I already have Office installed. The OneNote mobile app is free, but I don’t know it is has this feature. And I just used the built-in microphone on my laptop. Google Docs also has a dictation feature, I think, but I haven’t tried it yet.

So, does it work?

The accuracy is surprisingly good. I dictated about three paragraphs this morning and only one or two words were incorrect. Also, OneNote’s dictation doesn’t allow for speaking punctuation, which means you’ll have to add these after the fact. Additionally, few people actually write in OneNote, so you’ll have to paste the text into your document.

Overall, this could be great for someone whose hands are tired of typing or who cannot sit at a desk any longer than their job already requires. However, it doesn’t really increase productivity. This may just be me, but I take longer to think up good sentences when I have to speak them. Then, I have to go back and add punctuation marks and correct some words. And then paste it into my draft document. It’s easier to just write it from the get-go.

However, some authors say that it just takes getting used to. So, maybe if you’re more of a verbal/audio thinker and don’t have your hands available at all times, this is a good hack for you. I just don’t think I’ll be using it much. 

3. Writing sprints

This has been around for quite some time, but I only really started using it when I attempted Camp Nanowrimo during my test month. Essentially, writing sprints entail setting a timer for somewhere under an hour and then just focusing on getting as many words written as possible before the timer goes off. There are many published authors who swear by this.

So, does it increase productivity?

Yes. Firstly, it pushes you to write when you wouldn’t have in other circumstances, since it allows you to utilise even the smallest free periods. Have an hour between classes? Find a flat surface and do a writing sprint. Have to study all evening? Do a 25-minute sprint before you start. Secondly, it also helps you get more words down in that time, because you don’t have to worry about what you have to do next or whether your writing is any good. All you focus on is producing as many words as possible before that timer goes off.

So, if you’re a busy person, try using writing sprints here and there to increase your productivity.

4. Writing groups

Many authors enjoy the camaraderie and accountability that comes with writing with a lot of other people, whether it be in a physical space or an online group. There’s a set time everyone in the group will be writing and you keep one another company, checking up on one another’s progress and sharing motivation.

Does it increase productivity?

Not for me. This is largely a personal thing, but I actually get less writing done in the presence of other people. I’m more anxious. I get distracted by other people’s comments. And I constantly find myself wondering when the session will end. To me, writing is a solitary thing. I work best holed up in my room with no one around and no one leaving online comments about their own writing. Yes, I love checking in on others’ progress and sharing my own on Instagram, but only after my writing session has finished.

However, you may find that writing groups work for you. Maybe not being alone is just nicer for you, regardless of whether you get more words down or not. So, this one is definitely dependent on the individual.

5. Background noise

Some writers create signature playlists for each of their WIPs. Some write specific scenes to specific songs. Others use white noise or instrumentals. But it’s clear that writing with some form of background sound works for a lot of authors.

Let me start by saying that I cannot get any work done when listening to music with lyrics. So, I didn’t even try this. Instead, I tried fantasy instrumental playlists on YouTube, rainymood.com and ambient-mixer.com 

Does it work?

Sometimes.

If I’m writing a fight scene, listening to epic battle music will help me write it faster. I write at my best during thunderstorms, so rainymood.com definitely increases my productivity. Ambient mixer offers a huge variety of ambient sounds to listen to, ranging from scary woods to driving with the Winchesters. “Quiet library” on ambient mixer helps a lot when I have to study, but not really when I have to write. So, yes, in certain instances, background noise helps me write faster. But, mostly, I enjoy writing in silence or with natural, real-life sounds around me.

Once again, this is purely personal. Regardless, I can definitely recommend the two websites I mentioned above.

So, that’s all I have for you today. I hope that these “reviews” can help you decide which writing hacks will work for you. Remember that my asks are always open for creative writing questions, and that post submissions are always welcome!

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment if there are any writing hacks you’d like me to try out in the future. Follow me for similar content.

[redxwritingxhood]

Best writing advice I’ve ever heard

Writer’s block is a social construct and doesn’t actually exist. If you feel blocked, it’s because you’re not writing what you truly want to be writing.

Don’t write to be good. Write to write. Get that story down onto the page even if it comes with terrible grammar and too many commas. That’s what editing is for.

If you feel bored with your writing, delete a page and start again from there. Throw something new at your characters.

[someonetoanyone-deactivated2021]

Signal Boost Please!

I really need help! I really need groceries, and I’ve got nothing right now! If you can send help, please send anything at all to PayPal.me/loserchildhotpants - if you can’t send aid, please reblog!

[redxwritingxhood]

It’s okay to get halfway into a project, have your worldbuilding almost complete, your characters primed and ready… and then scrap it. It’s okay. If you feel like the tone or vibe is off or that you’ve strayed too far from your original objective, it’s okay to throw away what you have. Just make sure to keep a copy of it.

[ascendentashes]

If you want to “shock your audience” maybe you should just try writing a good story.

[redxwritingxhood]

“Suddenly!”

I am saying this once and I should only have to say this once: the word “suddenly” means nothing to you. You bump into it without apologizing. You stare right through it. When you come across it in a piece of writing, you huff derivatively and think that you know better than an actual published author, because in this case?? You do.

God it’s almost as bad as fuckin epithets.

When you use the word ‘suddenly’, you’ve lost the element of surprise and completely obliterated any tension you had managed to build up. Now the audience knows. They know something is coming and they won’t be surprised by it, they won’t be taken off guard.

Tl;dr: if you have to use the word “suddenly”, then it wasn’t sudden enough

[dukeofriven]

Nope. As I age I find myself less and less interested in taking umbrage at what I can only dub “the monstrous regiment of adverbs” because Edward Stratemeyer overused them over a hundred years ago. Time to let it go. “And suddenly first one and then another began to sing as they played, deep-throated singing of the dwarves in the deep places of their ancient homes; and this is like a fragment of their song, if it can be like their song without their music… as they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving through him, a fierce and jealous love, the desire of the hearts of dwarves.” Aw man, Tolkien totally dropped the ball when it came to shocking his audience with unexpected dwarf singing - he used ‘suddenly’! “For a searing second it stood dazzling far off in black and white, its topmost tower like a glittering needle; and then as the darkness closed again there came rolling over the fields a great boom. At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before: Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!” God damnit Reuel - ya done did it again. Théoden‘s eucatastrophic erection was RUINED by you sucking the surprise away. The scene is spoiled, now. Utterly spoiled.

“Six bells, and Stephen said, ‘I must go below.’

Jack gave him a hand as far as the ladder, and having urged him ‘to clap on for dear life’ asked whether they should meet for breakfast, adding that ‘this unnatural hell-fire sea would go down as suddenly as it had got up.'” Oh no, famed nautical author Patrick o’Brien! Jack could have surprised Stephen with the shocking revelation that the weather is changeable on the ocean. But the surprise (ha! get it? Because their ship is named the - oh never mind) was lost thank to your hack writing. Oh if only ‘suddenly’ had more usages in prose than a literal presagement of rapid occurrence! They dropped like flakes, they dropped like stars, Like petals from a rose, When suddenly across the June A wind with fingers goes. They perished in the seamless grass, —   No eye could find the place; But God on his repealless list   Can summon every face. Ms Dickinson, I was taken completely away from your powerful imagery by this base and pedestrian use of an adverb. Can God summon your face? Is it shamed? It ought to be. All the shock value of wind movement in June - gone!

“When on the eve of Briukhanov’s birthday a reporter came from Kyiv to Prypiat, where the Chernobyl plant was located, to interview him about his accomplishments and plans for the future, Briukhanov, usually a man of few words, suddenly opened up to the visitor.”

Serhii Plokhy! There I was, on the edge of my seat - someone came to interview Viktor Briukhanov even though he was legendarily taciturn? The reveal that he opened up in the interview should have brought be to tears - but that catharsis was stolen from me when the surprise was ruined with ‘suddenly.’ “Then, suddenly, my anxiety subsided, a feeling of intense happiness coursed through me, as when a strong medicine begins to take effect and one’s pain vanishes: I had formed a resolution to abandon all attempts to go to sleep without seeing Mamma, and had decided to kiss her at all costs, even with the certainty of being in disgrace with her for long afterwards, when she herself came up to bed. The tranquillity which followed my anguish made me extremely alert, no less than my sense of expectation, my thirst for and my fear of danger.”

Proust! Not you too! Maybe I can just blame your translator. Damn you Charles K. Scott Moncrieff - destroying France’s greatest contribution to literature through your errant, thoughtless deployment of suddenly. I was on pins and needless as to whether young Proust would kiss him mom before bed - can’t even be bothered to read the other six and half volumes now, Might as well just burn the whole thing. In summation, with apologies to the OP, prescriptivist writing advice is best treated like an exceptionally well calligraphed invitation to your ex-husband’s bachelor party: admired for its craftsmanship, then ignored entirely. Does ‘suddenly’ work in the sentence you are writing - did you reach for it naturally? Then use it if you want to. When you return later, do you see a better way to craft the sentence, or a stronger word choice? Then its okay to change it too. If you want to. (Or, if you’re being paid, your editor wants you to). The worst editing sessions I have ever had is when some prescriptivist comment sent me trawling through pages ripping out words, sick to my stomach that I had committed that most dire of authorial sins: a word crime. Then, when I had been healed of my illness, I usually went back and stuck half of them back in because they were fine.  In 1946 George Orwell wrote an essay called ‘Politics and the English Language’ in which he laid out six vitally important rules for writing - and essentially broke every one of them multiple times within the text. Because rules for writing are largely meaningless, and we’d be ever so much poorer if we followed them - just off the top of my head the works of Chesterton, Joyce, Woolf, Peake, and Gibran would vanish in an instant. Did you suddenly find yourself suddenly surprised by the suddenly shocking revelation that you suddenly noticed that ‘suddenly’ occurs in your work at a rate that suddenly strikes you as excessive? So what? It’s a style choice. Edward Stratemeyer sold a billion books off of it. And, for what it’s worth, ‘suddenly’ has more uses than simply an adverb denoting instantaneity in a present-tense action, and the notion that employing it destroys tension is seemingly based on the supposition that ‘suddenly [X Y Z]’ is always written with reader Tension/Release in mind, which it is not.

[redxwritingxhood]

Hun that was in regards to action sequences. No need to pull out your whole lecture because you assumed my stance on adverbs and personal style.

[develop-your-oc]

Does your OC think it’s okay for them to cry?

[beepfuckingbeeprichie]

Alabama is trying to make abortion a Class A Felony, with no exceptions in place for rape or incest

That means if someone gets an abortion in the state of Alabama, they could be sentenced to LIFE in jail

If you live in Alabama, PLEASE contact your representatives. Kay Ivey hasn’t announced her stance on this yet and if we can help sway her to our side, then we gotta try.

If you don’t live in Alabama, you can help by spreading the news, bc as far as I’ve seen, it’s getting almost no coverage.

If you DO want to help out in any way you can, you can do so by texting “resist” to 504-09. That’s the Resistbot that was used when writing to our representatives to protest the suspension of net neutrality. It’ll also help you register to vote, update you on pressing issues, and walk you through contacting your reps.

Alabama is backwards enough without a judge sentencing you to life in prison because you tried to take advantage of your bodily autonomy.

[redxwritingxhood]

This isn’t writing advice but needs to be seen anyway. Remember to help out any way you can.

[writingadhd]

Don’t let this get passed. Signal boost.

[ildsjels]

not sure what should happen next in your story?

Embarrass your protagonist. Make them seem weak and vulnerable in some way.

Shoot someone. That always takes the reader by surprise. 

In relation, kidnap someone. Or, rather, make it seem to your protagonist like someone has been kidnapped. 

Have one of your side characters disappear or become unavailable for some reason. This will frustrate your protagonist.

Have someone kiss the wrong girl, boy, or person, especially if you’ve been setting up a romance angle. It’s annoying.

If this story involves parents, have them argue. Push the threat of divorce, even if you know it won’t ever happen. It’ll make your readers nervous.

Have someone frame your protagonist for a crime they didn’t commit. This could range from a dispute to a minor crime to a full-blown felony.

If this is a fantasy story involving magic or witchcraft, create a terrible accident that’s a direct result of their spell-casting. 

Injure your protagonist in some way, or push them into a treacherous scenario where they might not make it out alive. 

Have two side characters who are both close to the protagonist get into a literal fist-fight. This creates tension for the reader, especially if these characters are well-developed, because they won’t know who to root for.

Make your protagonist get lost somewhere (at night in the middle of town, in the woods, in someone else’s house, etc.) 

Involve a murder. It can be as in-depth and as important as you want it to be. 

Introduce a new character that seems to prey on your protagonist’s flaws and bring them out to light.

If it’s in-character, have one of your characters get drunk or take drugs. Show the fallout of that decision through your protagonist. 

Spread a rumor about your protagonist. 

If your protagonist is in high-school, create drama in the school atmosphere. A death of a student, even if your protagonist didn’t know them personally, changes the vibe. 

If your story involves children, have one of them do something dangerous (touch a hot stove, run out into the road, etc.) and show how the protagonist responds to this, even if the child isn’t related to them. 

In a fantasy story, toss out the idea of a rebellion or war between clans or villages (or whatever units you are working with). 

Add a scenario where your protagonist has to make a choice. We all have watched movies where we have screamed don’t go in there! at the top of our lungs at the main character. Make them go in there. 

Have your protagonist find something, even if they don’t understand the importance of it yet. A key, a document, an old stuffed animal, etc. 

Foreshadow later events in some way. (Need help? Ask me!)

Have your protagonist get involved in some sort of verbal altercation with someone else, even if they weren’t the one who started it. 

Let your protagonist get sick. No, but really, this happens in real life all the time and it’s rarely ever talked about in literature, unless it’s at its extremes. It could range from a common cold to pneumonia. Maybe they end up in the hospital because of it. Maybe they are unable to do that one thing (whatever that may be) because of it.

Have someone unexpected knock on your protagonist’s door. 

Introduce a character that takes immediate interest in your protagonist’s past, which might trigger a flashback.

Have your protagonist try to hide something from someone else and fail.

Formulate some sort of argument or dispute between your protagonist and their love interest to push them apart. 

Have your protagonist lose something of great value in their house and show their struggle to find it. This will frustrate the reader just as much as the protagonist.

Create a situation where your protagonist needs to sneak out in the middle of the night for some reason.

Prevent your character from getting home or to an important destination in some way (a car accident, a bad storm, flat tire, running out of gas, etc.)

[redxwritingxhood]

Question: is it ethical to take fanfiction and repurpose it into an original novel?

Yes? No? Where’s the line drawn? I wanna hear opinions

[litteraeas]

How to start writing / how to fix writer’s block

Just start writing

Seriously, just go find a random prompt and write something. It doesn’t matter if it’s bad, it doesn’t matter if it makes absolutely no sense, just get to writing.

Another Tumblr user (I forgot the url) said in a post that “writing is a not a talent, it’s a skill, a muscle. It’ll get weak if you don’t exercise it” (paraphrased). Also think of writing as your entire being, if you don’t exercise you’ll get weak and unfit.

Also, sometimes I feel really unmotivated to write, and scared to??? There was just a time in my life when I stopped writing for a while and then something happened when I tried writing again that everytime I had to write and knew that somebody else was going to read it I would get an anxiety attack (mainly in school). But then I started getting a bit better in that aspect and I wanted to write again, but that sort of thing takes a toll on you so I would only write when I felt ‘inspired.’ But like the quote goes “waiting for inspiration is like waiting at a train station for a plane” (or something like that).

So just write. Don’t worry if it’s bad or not your best work, don’t worry about anything. It’s just a draft or an answer to a prompt; an exercise. Go outside and sit in the grass and describe what you see. Write about different fictional potions and creatures with random adjectives that first come to your head. Try different genres and branch out.

Just write. That’s one of best writing advices anyone could give you.

[kiramartinauthor]

Please write stories that are problematic. 

Stories need conflict.

Write them to show what’s healthy. Write them to show what’s unhealthy.

Write them because problematic behaviors exists, and writing is a medium to explore and show– to teach and make the reader think. Shying away from these topics only creates ignorance. 

I see so many people telling writers to avoid anything that could be problematic, like writing about it is supporting it. They fail to see the importance of writing with depth and meaning. 

Writing has always been about conveying thoughts and ideas without fear of censorship. Being able to present problematic situations in a healthy way is important. 

[dukeofbookingham-deactivated202]

Once more for the people in the back

[the-adhd-society]

Random tips

Something i learned from thr palooza:

We get overwhelmed a lot by all of the things we need and want to do. This feeling stops us from starting. The tips that was given was :

1)writing down the things you need to do for the day

2) out of that list pick one task that you need to get done

3) write out the steps for that task.

4)focus only on that task and anything else is extra.

When i first saw this, the idea of focusing on only one thing felt like bullshit. I have all of these things that i need to do. Why is only doing one enough?

I think the goal is to feel ready enough to start. Maybe that one thing will take an hour,maybe it will take the entire afternoon. But at least you can say that you got it done. And maybw you have enough energy to start the next thing.

[abcsofadhd]

Focusing on ONE THING is a good coping method to get around executive dysfunction yall.

The ADHD mind doesn’t do well with multiple things cause our difficulty switching attention, so focus on ONE THING at a time, and you’ll find it much easier.