andreahf-blog

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My face claims for two characters in my book, K and D.

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Tips on Writer’s Block

It’s time to give your brain a break– but bring a notebook or your Notes app!

At a loss for words?

|| You’re not in the right headspace, that’s okay. ||

> Write in a journal, get out your frustrations > Paint or doodle something with the same mood as your writing project > Work on character building > Watch film analysis videos on YouTube (I like the channel Every Frame a Painting) > Read blogs and books on writing > Dance… just dance

Not feelin’ it?

|| You’re inspiration and motivation are probably asleep, that’s okay ||

> Clean or organize something > Read a book > Spruce up your writing space > Watch clips from your favorite movies and TV shows > Watch YouTube channels focused on writers (I love Jenna Moreci’s channel) > Surf Pinterest, make a mood board for your project

Feel kinda broken?

|| Sometimes your brain doesn’t wanna write, that’s okay ||

> Make a playlist (I like to make ones based on the project, a character, or theme) > Go on a walk, even it’s only for two minutes or to get the mail > Listen to an album/artist you haven’t heard in a while > Make yourself a snack or smoothie > Watch an episode of a silly animated series like Futurama or Steven Universe

Whatever you do, truly be mindful about giving yourself a break. Some of my longest writer’s block spans have come from constantly pushing myself to think about the story, while my loss of writer’s block has come from random moments of being distracted. Because as someone with anxiety, distracting myself is sometimes the best thing I can do.

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My characters: wow, everything’s going really well for us!

Me:

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reasons to not quit writing:

your writing is a skill, not an inborn talent (unless, yeah, maybe it is). not everyone can do what you do and love

everyone says they want to write a book. everyone has what it takes to write a book. not everyone does it anyway. you be the small percentage of success you read about

your writing will always seem brickshit horrible because you wrote and read it a million times

you love this writing thingy. quitting it will be like cutting off your fingers one by one.

someone out there will want to read what you wrote.

someone out there wants to know what is on your mind. 

someone out there appreciates your art. they will share it with their friends. they will share it with their loved ones. they will share it with their future self because maybe what you wrote saved them.

if you give up now, you know you will just come back to it again, whether it’s years from now, months, or next week. you love writing, that’s why you planted the seed of thought that you are going to write this book, and whether you come back to it or not, your unwritten stories will come back to you.

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Hey, I know how you feel :/ I like to do two things 

1. Find things that get you excited about your story, step away from your computer and do that for a while (showering, going for a drive or walk, listening to music, making a mood board) these things aren't going to actually advance your story, but they are helpful to come back to in times like this. 

2. I've found it's a lot easier to revise. So, if you don't have it in you to maybe just start by putting what happens. For example “A and B have a conversation” then add “Where do they have it? In the park” “What kind of conversation is it? An emotional one, maybe A cries.” and so on and so forth, hopefully while outlining the scene and writing more details it will get your juices flowing! (ew, don’t love that choice of wording)

These are just little things I hope help, but in the end I know that it’s easier said than done and I totally understand what you mean. Good luck on your writing?   

where has all the inspiration gone?

where has all the inspiration gone?

I find myself almost always just staring at my computer.

Whether it is on or off, document closed or open… I find myself just staring at it with a sense of dread and frustration.

The frustration stems from the false assumption that if you just sit there and face that blank page or unfinished idea, that it’ll just somehow flow. You’ll write. You’ll get the words out. You’ll have a finished…

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Suck-y writing

Revision’s so hard. I’m on my 2nd draft, and I’ve decided that the purpose of this draft is to focus on plot and characters. Obviously I fix whatever I know how to fix writing-wise, but it’s so hard to know that the chapter you’re leaving isn’t great, and you have to move on because you did what you have to do in this draft and you don’t know how else to fix it for now and you don’t want to get stuck on this part and it’s just

the worst

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On a roll

When I’m drafting or revising and I pass a certain number of chapters I get so excited. Because I have commitment issues, but when I’ve passed five chapters it’s like “ok, I have momentum now, this is the time I’m gonna do it”

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People talk a lot about how reading is necessary for writing, but when you really want to improve your writing, it’s important to go beyond just simple reading. Here are some things to do when reading:

Note how they begin and end the story. There are a ton of rather contradictory pieces of advice about starting stories, so see how they do it in the stories you enjoy. Don’t only look at the most popular stories, but look at your more obscure favorites.

See what strikes you. Is it fast or complicated scenes with a lot of emotions? Is it stark lines? Pithy dialogue? What do you remember the next day?

Pay attention to different styles. It’s not just whether they use past or present tense, first or third person. It’s whether the writing is more neutral or deeper inside character’s heads. Do they use italics? Parentheses? Other interesting stylistic choices? Take the ones you like and try them out in your own writing. See what works and what doesn’t.

Keep track of how they deal with other characters. Do we see a lot of secondary character each for very brief periods of time or are there a couple that show up a lot? How much information do we get about secondary characters? Do they have their own plots or do their plots revolve entirely around the main characters? 

Count how many plots there are. Is there just one main plot or are there multiple subplots? Are the storylines mostly plot-based or character-based?  

Pay attention to what you don’t like. If you don’t like what’s going on in a book or even just a scene, note what it is. Does the dialogue feel awkward? Are the characters inconsistent? Does the plot feel too convenient or cobbled together? Does the wording just feel off? See if you can spot those issues in your own writing, especially when reading a completed draft or beginning a later draft.

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When a plot hole is worse than you realised...

*notices small plot hole in story* 

Oh, better fix this up! 

*pulls at thread* 

*entire story unravels*

… Shit

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I hate Hogwarts Mystery.

Because JK fucking Rowling is trying to make me break all these school rules, and all I want to do is just go to class and learn magic and be a good student.

But nOooooooo. I have to lie to people and sneak around and shit.

Do you know how devastating it is to have McGonagall disappointed in you?? I didn’t wait 16 years of my life to finally go to Hogwarts to only have Minerva fucking McGonagall DISAPPOINTED IN ME.

This is some shit.

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Writing the novels you always wanted to read:

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does anyone else constantly get the feeling that you’re running out of time?? and for no reason!! i could be lying in bed in the middle of summer vacation and my mind is like “hurry up!!! before it’s too late!!!” and i’m just like “hurry up and do what?? leave me alone wtf!!!”

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Old WIP I haven’t touched in five years: pssst…remember me?

Me: um…vaguely?

Old WIP: wanna hang out again?

Me: I’m sort of…busy with another…story…um…

Old WIP: shhhh…just make a playlist…just one Pinterest board…a vague post on the internet

Me: but…I…but

Old WIP: shhhh…

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I adore Rick Riordan, he genuinely tries to make each of his characters different and unique

Everyone: we want more LGBT+ characters in our stories !

Rick Riordan: okay here have a gay Italian sad boy

Everyone: I mean, it’s all right but-…

Rick Riordan: I understand. Want a bisexual main character, who happens to be a god?

Everyone: oh that’s actually nice…but! How about girls-

Rick Riordan: you’re totally right. Here have a pair of lesbian hunters

Everyone: …um this is actually pretty nice…how about-

Rick Riordan: a pansexual main character?

Everyone: yea-

Rick Riordan: with a gender fluid love interest? Say no more! Anything else?

Everyone:

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Last line tag

I was tagged by @firewritten and this line is really whatever (it isn’t even the last line I wrote, it’s just the last line from the last chapter I edited) but I wanted to participate so here goes:

“Deal.” Dad says, shaking Kayla’s hand formally “Now, let’s watch some movies.”

That’s it! I’m going to tag @booksaremymeth @lisa-writing and @katelynntheauthor and anyone else who might see this and want to do it :)

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Hey, I just followed you! I write YA exclusively (even though I like to read other stuff) and I’m currently working on the 2nd draft of a fantasy novel, can’t wait to read more about your stories

Writeblr

I’ve a member of tumblr for a while now, but I haven’t been active in forever, and I’d really like to connect with more writers. So here I am, making an introduction post!

Edit: I forgot to tell you my name the first time. Whoops.

Hi! My name is Madeline but in addition to that, I also accept Maddi and Maddi Rose.

About me: well, I’m currently a college freshman studying art. I’m a slytherin and a Scorpio, and while I don’t believe in astrology, I am a very horrible person in my writing and the double Ss are a great excuse for my sadistic nature. I write YA, and pretty much always have. I like all genres, as long as I can have angst (I’m also a sucker for fluff)

I’m also super into musicals so I tend to reblog some stuff about that

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I’ve done NaNoWriMo several times and won for two years, and then I tried doing it during college. Mostly I write fantasy, but I am currently writing urban fiction too, so that’s interesting… I typically write novels, and my short stories always end up growing into novels

My WIPS: I currently have 2-ish major WIps - Marked and Supers.

Marked is a high fantasy where a girl who has her humanity slowly stripped away by the Hunt for 147 is suddenly plunged back into the world for a job. It’s currently a complete first draft and I need to rewrite it, but I’m not doing that not. I’m also bad at describing it, but it’s such an important story to me I am constantly thinking about it.

Supers is currently 4k into my first draft, and it’s a story about Supers on oppisite sides of the Hero/Villain lines, and the main pair of enemies are also dating. There’s a lot more to it than that, but I suck at describing my works.

I am also working on a short story, but if I can’t describe novels, you would be mistaken if you thought I could do it for a shorter work. The title is Reflection of a Monster though.

So that’s a little bit about me and my projects!

If you are a writeblr or post writing/books, especially YA/Fantasy but I’m okay with anything, please reblog or like this so I can follow you and get more connected, and to help get this post out. And if you think I sound interesting, go ahead and follow me (or not. you do you)

I’m also always down to talk/scream about WIPs. Seriously. I love listening to people talk about their WIPs.