(Btw Forgot To Put This In My Last Ask But I Love The New Aesthetic)

Hi! Sorry for the spam, but I've seen your blog for like 10 minutes and I already love it. Wishing you a great day, lots of writing inspiration & claim the stars ^^

oh my gosh thank you so much, this ask honestly made my day! wishing the same to you <3

must a story have “plot”

is it not enough that I just, like, care about the characters a whole bunch

some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.

when you discover you share a birthday with a fictional character

me: * hYpErVeNtiLaTiNg*

Tips for Finishing a First Draft

Credit: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-novel-rough-draft

Set a goal

You want to get the main points of your story down quickly, without getting hung up on word choice and sentence flow. By giving yourself deadlines to complete certain exercises or sections, you become more ambitious with your time and waste less of it lingering on minor details. Commit to completing a certain number of words, or a set number of pages, or writing for a fixed amount of time. A routine will keep your writing consistent so you do not lose momentum and fall behind on your writing. 

Meeting goals can give you the motivation you need to make and complete another one. For example, I set a minimum word count goal for 35,000 words for my WIP because I hadn’t written anything of that length before. I ended up surpassing it by a lot! 

Prewriting

Prewriting is helpful for getting started, and can include performing writing prompts or exercises. For example, freewriting allows a writer to write unencumbered—jotting down ideas fast without a strict form to follow—which is also useful for stimulating creativity when you’re suffering from writer’s block. Prewriting can also be outlining your next chapter, or plot point, etc...whatever you choose to do, it prepares you to write!

Invite all ideas

Let ideas flow free. A rough draft is where your wildest ideas come out. Don’t be shy about content or switching point of views, and don’t hold yourself back from ideas that might be worth exploring. This phase of your writing is for your eyes only, so there’s no need to feel self-conscious about what you put down on paper. The first draft is all about getting it out on the page--save insecurity for later!

Outline

I can’t express how important this is. Even if you’re a pure pantser, you need to have some idea of your major plot points and ending. This is where you start to form the initial structure of your scenes. Laying all the pieces out before you assemble them will give you the clearest picture on how to put together your novel, as well as figuring out which pieces you’re missing and which ones you don’t need.

Don’t edit as you write

This is a bad habit of mine, as I’m a perfectionist, and it becomes a problem, especially when I’m writing my longest project ever. I’ve always focused on making everything right, and it’s hard for me to realize that there is no possible way to do that in a novel.

When you’re writing your story, don’t worry about punctuation, writing complete sentences, or grammar like passive voice or inconsistent tenses—leave the whole editing process behind. As long as you get your ideas down in a way that’s understandable to you, what you write in your first draft is between you and your vision. You can worry about well-written sentences in your second or third drafts.

Start where you want

You want to begin where you’re most excited. Not every story needs to start at the beginning and go step-by-step. If you’re anticipating writing the climax of the story before you have a beginning or end, then write that down first! You don’t want to bog yourself down with story details you’re not ready to establish yet. Writing a novel is a long process, and you want to keep it enjoyable for yourself as long as possible.

Take breaks

The last thing you need is to experience burnout before getting through your first draft. Sometimes walking away from your writing and coming back later with a set of fresh eyes is exactly what your writing process needs. 

Writing every day can be unhealthy or lead to an unhealthy mindset. It can also make you tire of your story. 

Finish it

I know, this seems kind of weird when the post is giving advice on how to finish a first draft. But it actually means  You shouldn’t start the next draft until you finish the one you’re on, and the sooner you get it down, the better. Sticking to your goals and putting in the time will yield workable pages that you can eventually start sculpting into another draft of your novel!

I'm the one who ruined me: I did it myself

No Longer Human // Ask Polly: Help, I'm The Loneliest Person In The World! // Franz Kafka // Sue Zhao // Fingertips - Fortesa Latifi // Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky // Juansen Dizon // The Garden of Eden - Ernest Hemingway // On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

Writing is such an amazing art form. You’re essentially sculpting a living, breathing universe full of sounds, sights, and feelings with only the tools of your imagination, 26 letters and a lot of patience to help you, and honestly, the fact that you’re able to do that is not only unbelievable, but also metal as fuck.

Overcoming Perfectionism

Writing sprints

One of my biggest problems as a perfectionist and a writer is editing while I write. It slows me down way too much. Objectively, I know that grammar and spelling don’t matter in the first draft, but my inconsiderate brain is trained to argue that it does matter. If you spend more time fixing your typos than writing, then the best solution is to just do a writing sprint. 

It’s pretty self-explanatory: set a timer and then write for a certain amount of time. The goal of a writing sprint is to write as many words as possible in the time you have. Your writing does not have to be perfect. Let me repeat that: Your writing does not have to be perfect. The whole point of a writing sprint is to churn out words. Whether they’re “good” words is something to worry about later. If you still find yourself returning to that perfectionist mindset, then put your writing out of view for a while and take your mind off it.

First Draft Perfectionism Syndrome

Yes, I’ve decided to give this a name: First Draft Perfectionism Syndrome, or FDPS for short. If you’re on the first draft--I feel your pain. It’s tempting to make the first draft as neat as possible so you have less work to do later on. That’s the way it works, right? Well, yes and no. 

Yes, you might save yourself work later, but at what cost? You’ll be constantly obsessing over the tiny details and slowing yourself down. A first draft is supposed to be messy. It’s one big brain dump for the main structure and ideas of your story. It should not be of a published quality. That comes many drafts later. The first draft is all about just getting your ideas down.

Having fun with writing

Writing isn’t supposed to be a chore, but perfectionism can often make it seem like one. If you’re not having fun with your writing, take a step back and ask yourself why. If you’re not enjoying yourself, is it because of you, your idea, or both? Pinpoint the problem and then think of ways to solve it. Writing is supposed to be fun, not something to dread.

The perfectionist standard

Many times, perfectionists hold themselves to a standard of perfection. But what is perfect in writing? Good grammar and spelling? The complete absence of plot holes? Flowing and unstilted dialogue? Trying to have all of these qualities and more is simply unachievable. Every single published work out there has some kind of flaw. Your favorite media most likely has flaws, but does that make you completely hate it? No! So don’t burn yourself out trying to reach a standard that is literally unreachable. Your writing is not defined by its flaws. You might look at your writing and only see flaws, but another person won’t read your writing the same way.

Better done than perfect

It’s really important to remember that in the end, all that matters is that you have something. You can edit “garbage,” but you can’t edit a blank page. So don’t be afraid to show up. It’s okay to feel like your writing is bad and it’s okay to be imperfect. Every single writer ever has felt this way. If they haven’t, they’re probably lying. Honestly, I’d be extremely worried if a writer said that they think their first draft was ready for publication. It’s not. And that is more than okay.

Rating First Lines of my WIPs Part 2

Intro

Hey, it’s Calliope, and she’s back with yet another low-effort post! I’m making a part 2 to my first post because I recently found some very old writings of mine from when I was just beginning to write, and I want to give them the attention they deserve! There were also a few lines that I really wanted to include in the last post but couldn't fit, so I'm adding them in here. Plus, this has now apparently become a trend, so I'm legally obligated to make a part 2 /j

One sunny day, there was a horse fair in Sunnydale.

4/10

As an opener, this line is drier than a desert

The title of this story is Unicorn Academy: Through the Magic Portal. It was a ripoff mashup of Harry Potter and Black Beauty, and was borne during my unfortunate horse girl phase. Basically, it was about two girls who buy horses that are secretly unicorns, and are magically transported to a unicorn school

Remember how I’ve always said that my first story was a Seekers fanfiction? Well, as it turns out, I was wrong, because this is the first story in my first writing notebook. I even drew a cover for it because when I was a kid, I fancied myself a writer and an artist. (Since then, I’ve discovered that I’m definitely one and not the other.)

Once, giraffes had short necks and were in the horse family.

5/10

...what

I’m intrigued, but in a I-want-to-read-this-just-to-see-how-laughable-it-is kind of way

The title of this story is called How the Giraffe Got Its LONG Neck. But the story itself still makes no sense, even with context

Yeah, I know, I wrote a lot about animals when I was young okay-

Once, there was an old fisherman whose wife died and before she died, she gave birth to two sons, Damon and Jason.

7/10

I’m definitely intrigued, but the sentence should be cut down a little more

This one is named The Magical Boat: A Fable. As a concept, it’s not too bad. In practice...you get quotes like this one: “While the fisherman was at the market, he saw a boat. He didn’t know why, but he wanted to buy it, so he bought it.” (Yes, this is a real quote.)

This line is giving major Chronicles of Narnia vibes and I like it

“Kelly was dreaming. A robed woman knelt down by an altar.”

8/10

I actually quite like this line! This story was a sequel to another story called Secret Realm, where (shocker) the characters found a secret realm. Unfortunately, I lost the Google Doc where I wrote the original story, so I have no idea where this one was supposed to pick up.

I like this image a lot, it gives me fancy fantasy prologue vibes

Subtract the “dream beginning” and I would like it more

“The only joy I ever got out of my early life was visiting the church next to the shabby orphanage I lived in.”

7.5/10

I wrote this story around 6th-7th grade and I remember being really proud of it. I even posted it online. It’s probably lying in some forgotten corner of the Internet at this point-

Religion doesn’t play any role in this story, the only reason a church is mentioned is because it was the home of a piano that the main character loved. Music was the main character’s only joy in life, etc. etc.

Giving Jane Eyre vibes, I kind of like it!

“Because my mother raised me to be the next queen, I know when and what fork to use at dinner. Because she didn’t raise a fool, I know what artery to stick it in so you’ll bleed to death.”

8/10

I’m like 80% sure I got this from a writing prompt on the Internet, but I can’t find it anywhere? So for the purposes of this post, I’m going to assume I wrote it

This sounds like belongs to a YA fantasy with a not-like-other-girls assassin-queen MC who’s leading a revolt to claim her crown, yet can’t decide which guy to pick in a love triangle

It's super dramatic and I kind of love it anyway, so I’m going to give it extra points!

“The entire town had turned out to watch the emperor’s killer die.“

8.5/10

*bangs head against wall* why didn’t I continue this wip it sounds SO COOL

This line's not a 9 because I don’t think it’s *quite* there?

I definitely want to return to this one someday! I shelved it to make room for other projects but I hope to get back to it!

is there any flowers/plants that symbolize or relate to discomfort and dissatisfaction? im trying to draw something for an art project and i wanted to draw plants/flowers in it that hold symbolism to them

Hey kookoojellyfish! Most of these mean either directly, but allow potential association because neither discomfort nor dissastifaction exist as single meanings here.

agnus castus – coldness, indifference

aloe – bitterness and pain, bitterness, grief, religious superstition

balsam (red) – impatient resolved, touch me not

bee ophrys – error

belvedere – I declare against you

bindweed (great) – insinuation, importunity

burdock – importunity, touch me not

convolvulus (major) – extinguished hopes

corchorus – impatient of absence

eglantine – I wound to heal, poetry

geranium (fish) – disappointed expectations

henbane – imperfection, fault, for males to attract love from females

hogbean – defect

hortensia – you are cold, carelessness

humble plant – despondency

ice plant – your looks freeze me, rejected addresses

lint – I feel my obligations

love-lies-bleeding – hopeless not heartless, deserted love, desertion

meadow sweet – uselessness

mimosa – sensitiveness, sensitivity

ranunculus (wild) – ingratitude

sorrel (wild) – wit ill-timed

straw (a single, broken) – dissension, rupture of a contract

sweetbrier (european) – I wound to heal, poetry, imagination

tiger-flower – for once may pride befriend me, cruelty

Discomfort could be represented by poisonous plants in art. They don’t mean it, but they most certainly cause it.

– Mod Jana

Disclaimer

This blog is intended as writing advice only. This blog and its mods are not responsible for accidents, injuries or other consequences of using this advice for real world situations or in any way that said advice was not intended.