Not Reply What They Were Asking, But Turn. Not Only Is It The Drarry Fic, But It’s Sort Of Like That. 

I’m tempted to say Ash but I don’t know. He’s supposed to be more soft but I love it when the soft one has repressed anger. Even though it’s a sort of over done trope.  But I digress.   The theme really makes it possible for all of them to have repressed anger. Though I think Ash would be the one who doesn’t realise it the most. 

tag the oc who has a lot of repressed anger and doesn’t realize it yet

Max: I don’t know really…Ash is just…he’s brilliant, ya know? It’s impossible not to love him. 

Tender Tuesday

This is an ask event specifically for romance writers, or those who have major romance tropes in their stories - therefore the questions sent to each other, has to be about love; think of things like “Who is big spoon/little spoon?”, “What’s the biggest challenge they have to face as a couple?” etc.

P.S.: This is an all inclusive party, all the colours of the rainbow are welcome. It doesn’t matter who your characters love, bring them in and tell us all about it.

I’m going to send out as many asks as I can. But just in case, this weeks question is:

What made your OC fall in love with their partner(s)?

Feel free to tag me if you answer.

Tag to use: #tender tuesday

Tag list:

@adie-dee, @adventuresofmeghatron, @aelenko​, @alias-levi, @asablehart​, @austrohungarianwriteblr​, @bigboldgold, @candyapplewriting​, ​ @castironbitch​, @clarissablackm, @drowsy-quill​, @drbibliophile, @earths-oeuvre, @elliegraule, @fictional-semantics​, @flashflyingfish, @ghostpicnic-writes, @gwens-fiction​, @happyorogeny, @hell-yeah-fantasy, @imsorry-idontcare​,  @itsmariemccurdy, @jekkiefan @justahufflepuffnerd, @kellymunro, @kryallaorchid, @ladywithalamp​, @lexiklecksi​, @lynnafred​, @lysander-xp, @midnightstarlightwrites, @missbrunettebarbie-writer, @mrs-raven-writes, @nectargrapes​, @nk-writes, @northernrosewritings​, @petrolstationflowers, @pheita, @princessofdarkness12, @raevenlywrites​, @rainbowcoloreddays​, @ravenpuffwriter​, @reininginthefirewriting, @rhiannonleewriting​, @scribbleknots​, @scripturientworld, @six-feet-underneath​, @smgrace3, @solesurvivorpaigeargot​ @sybil-writes​ @thegirlfairytalesforgot, @theswordofpens, @writerwaage, @writingamongthecoloredroses​, @writinginslowmotion​, @writemares​, @writer-in-monochrome

Please, interact with the post if you’d like to be added.

The tag list is here for you to see who you can send an ask for. If you get an ask, please, return it so we can keep this going.

Have fun! Keep the romance going ❤️

I didn’t even realise I did this. Almost subconsciously, it’s just the way my writing is. I thought it was normal…? Okay. 

Hi, I'm rereading some of my work and I notice that most of the sentences start with a subject and it tends to get really annoying after a while. Any tips on other ways I could start my sentences?

How to Diversify Your Sentence Structure

This is a really common problem that I think a lot of writers have! Having a repetitive sentence structure without variation can make your prose really choppy, boring and difficult to read, while overall weakening your voice.

Here are some techniques to help you change things up a bit!

Switch around your subject

Very basic grammar: Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. I think when we think of subject in a sentence, we often think of person. This might be especially true in creative writing because we deal with characters.

For example:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

In this example, Amelia is the subject of every single sentence, and a verb is followed immediately afterward. Because every sentence begins with ‘Amelia’ or ‘she’, there’s no variety and it’s a little bit boring to read. 

Here’s what it could look like if I switched the subject around somewhere.

She felt a cold breeze blow through her.

A cold breeze blew through her.

The difference is subtle, but now the subject of the sentence is the breeze, not Amelia. The sentence structure is still the same: The subject is followed by a verb. However, because the subject is different from Amelia, it still brings variety to how your sentences read. 

Here’s what it looks like now:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now that every sentence doesn’t begin with “Amelia” or “she” it seems a little bit more interesting.

Put dependent clause before subject 

So we changed one subject in a sentence, but we still have multiple sentences that have Amelia as the subject. It still doesn’t have too much variety in sentence structure, and as a result, it can be stilted.

So let’s try bringing a dependent clause before the subject.

She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

By bringing ‘realizing’ before the subject, I created a dependent clause and succeeded making the first word something other than the subject. 

However, because it’s a dependent clause, ‘realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately’ is a sentence fragment — it’s an incomplete thought. So I combined it with the last sentence to make it complete.

So after those two techniques, let’s compare the original with the rewrite.

Original

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket. 

Rewrite

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now because there’s a variety in sentence structure and subject, the paragraph  is not only more interesting to read, it also flows better and more smoothly. It also has the added bonus of diverse sentence lengths which was lacking before, and it helps make the writing more engaging.

I just wanted to note: there is nothing bad about having your subject as the first word in a sentence. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to change every single sentence they ever wrote. Like in my example, the first sentence starts with Amelia. That’s fine.

The problem is that when every single sentence starts that way, it becomes repetitive. You can still have some sentences that start with your character, just make sure to throw in some other sentence structures, and your writing will be more engaging!

Outside of this specific example, you can also try playing around with dependent clauses in your existing sentences as well.

Jamie walked into the haunted house, despite her reluctance.

Despite her reluctance, Jamie walked into the haunted house.

The sentence is the exact same, but I just switched around where the dependent clause ‘despite her reluctance’ is placed. Even though it has the same meaning, it can provide a different feel or at the very least, switch up having your subject as the first word of every sentence.

I also talk about this in my guide about how to make your writing flow better. Sentence structure has a lot to do with making your writing sound cohesive and eloquent, so I would definitely recommend checking that out as well!

Thanks so much for asking Anon, I definitely struggled with this too when I was just starting out. I remember seeing how every single paragraph started with a name, and that was really annoying me, but I had trouble figuring out how to fix it. I hope this helped!

Nooo! Many of the links I need are gone. 

the suffering never ends

Share this as much as you can everyone!

Got this from: Friend from discord

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.

Louis L’Amour (via wordsnstuff)

Yes. This awesome advice. But you need to actually know what the fuck is going on. No matter if you’re a plotter or a panster, you need to know WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. 

The Ultimate Positivity Post

Things that make me happy

- drinking green tea - friday nights - reading books on rainy days - no homework - discovering a new tv show - waking up early but refreshed - running down the street when no one’s looking - washing my hair - smiling at strangers on the bus - spending time alone - wandering around my hometown - watching the stars - the smell of old dusty books - being wrapped up in a blanket on a cold night - talking with someone who understands - lying on the grass & cloud watching - picking up flowers - hiking - endless hot showers - first snow - understanding something in maths - being able to look at myself in the mirror - writing in a journal - the smell after rain - listening to music - watching sunrise - breakfasts in bed - adventures - finding the courage to open up to someone - crawling into bed after a long hard day - day dreaming - breathing in the cold air after a long run - taking bubble bath - wind in my hair - falling in love with life

Apps For Writers I Wish I Had

So, as a writer who’s more lazy than my cats, I spend many a sleepless night thinking up apps for me to use to make the process much easier. These are a few of those. 

One: A app where you can enter a name and click ‘search’ and it will tell you if it’s okay to use in a project. You can specify wether it’s a person name, an establishment name, a place name, etc. to refine your search.  A possible name would be ‘Name Check’ or some variant.  Two: a face claim app. You can specify the basics of your character and it will pull up pictures/face claims matching the description. Eg. ‘hazel eyes’ ‘black hair’ ‘male’ ‘freckles’ and so on getting more and more specific. 

Three: an app for job research. You type in the job you have for your character and it pulls up real life accounts of people with that job. It would explain what the basics are, day to day routine, schooling necessary, hazards, time, etc. Note that this only applies to real life jobs, not fantasy

Four: a music app. You give the browser the themes, feelings, etc. of your project and it pulls up music that fits that. Also can define by genre. Also applicable for characters. 

Five: kind of goes along with face claim. A scene reference app. You give the feeling, genre, what you know about it, etc. and it pulls up pictures that match that for you to reference. To see it in front of you. 

Six: This one is sort of like three. Need to write a scene you’ve never experienced? This gives you kind of like a guideline Do’s and Don’ts, if you will. Someone who’s experienced it explains(to the best of their abilities) what they were feeling. You have to know your character well enough to change those feelings to fit your character.  Not for fantasy.   Seven: Character name checking. It’s a fucking pain to have to figure out if this awesome name is available to use in a book or anything that’s going to be written by you. With this, all you have to do is type in the name and if it turns green, it’s safe to use. 

DON’T FORGET THIS APPLIES TO PEOPLE!!!!

❤ Give love! Spread love!  ❤

Go and tell your favorite artist something nice about their art! Go-go-go!

My main problem as a writer is that I don’t write because “I have a story to tell”. I write because there are worlds I want to visit, ideas I want to explore, people I want to meet, conversations I want to hear, emotions that I want to express, and impossibilities I want to make real.

Which means that I still need a fucking plot.