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Write a piece about someone living in the walls

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also added a ton of subplots and twists and a roadtrip across town from our love interests ending with getting high in seb's old beaten up car but at least he has a car while they're parked at the top of a mountain overlooking the city

also not to give another scene away but seb will meet stitches 👀

didn't sleep last night but got so much damn thought done about both twisted stitches and a cyberpunk vigilante sapphic girl group killing off each of the men that wronged them one by one. if you want to check out my updated pinterest it's here!

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didn't sleep last night but got so much damn thought done about both twisted stitches and a cyberpunk vigilante sapphic girl group killing off each of the men that wronged them one by one. if you want to check out my updated pinterest it's here!

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werewolf body horror is under utilised- imagine pissing a guy off and his bones start rippling under his skin only to settle back as if nothing happened because he decided you werent worth it

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Ever feel like your characters are holding out on you? Like there’s something lurking beneath the surface... but they’re just sitting there, being cryptic?

We’ve got some new templates to help you discover their emotional arcs, relationships, and backstories!

Character Arc Planning Template: Growth, self-destruction, spiralling into chaos at the first sign of trouble... Track how your character changes (or refuses to).

Character Relationship Template: Friends, enemies, lovers, ex-lovers-who-are-now-rivals-with-awkward-sexual-tension... Explore relationship dynamics and define how your characters connect.

Emotional Wound Template: Uncover concealed motivations, and craft character-defining backstory with depth and care.

You can find them in Ellipsus—head over to the blog to read more!

- the Ellipsus Team xo

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"Write What You Know"

“Write what you know” - a piece of writing advice that many aspiring authors are probably sick of hearing. Writing about a subject you are familiar with, however, is an excellent starting point for both nonfiction and fiction writers.

Writing about what you know can take many different forms depending on your writing process and the sort of creative writing project you’re working on.

For non-fiction writers, the phrase can be applied by writing a memoir based on your own experiences and real-life stories, or writing about familiar subject matter.

When writing fiction—whether it be science fiction short stories or an epic historical fiction novel—writing what you know means finding aspects of your story and characters that you deeply relate to.

How to "Write What You Know"

Writing what you know at its simplest level can involve writing about your own life and first-hand personal experiences. If you’re writing fiction or pieces outside of your life experience, it can take a bit more know-how and hard work to find how you relate to your subject matter. Here are some tips for writing what you know:

Follow emotional truths. Often as a freelance writer, you work on assignments that cover material well outside your personal experiences. As a good writer, it’s your job to find a way into the material. One way to do this is to focus on the emotional realities of the characters in your piece and look for common ground. As you start writing, especially if you’re a first-time nonfiction writer or are tackling your first novel, look for emotional common ground with your characters.

Reflect on a period of time in your life. Take some time apart from your work to think about a specific time in your life. This can help you find a way into a piece you are working on. Fiction writers like Ernest Hemingway often take direct inspiration from autobiographical events then loosely fictionalize them to use in a novella or full-length novel. First-time fiction writers might find that taking a specific event from their lives and fictionalizing it will demystify the fiction-writing process and help them break through writer’s block.

Freewrite. Freewriting about your own life, whether it be in journal form or something more abstract, is a great way to figure out connections between your personal life and your writing. At first you may not see how deeply personal your work is because, on the surface, it feels so separate from your personal life. Taking the time to write about your writing and the way it intersects with your life can help you see links and forge a more personal connection with your work.

Place yourself in your character’s shoes. If you’re having a tough time relating to your work, take a moment to fully inhabit one of your characters and think about how you would approach whatever situation they find themselves in. You’ll always want to empathize with your characters, but setting aside a specific time to reflect on a character’s motives can help you understand them more deeply. What would you do if you found yourself in your character’s position? In what ways is it reminiscent of situations from your past?

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

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Writing a Fictional Monster

From Count Dracula to Ramsay Bolton, some of the most memorable characters in literature are monsters. Use these examples and tips to generate great monster ideas for your own writing.

Characteristics of a Monster

The word ‘monster’ stirs up various ideas of traits and psychological aspects of creepy creatures people fear, but there are a number of ways monsters can be portrayed:

Physical characteristics. Monsters can be massive and powerful, like King Kong or Mothra. It can have slimy body parts, rows of sharp teeth, tentacles, a coat of thick armor, or be a completely small and unassuming sort of thing. The physical characteristics of your monster aren’t just for effect, either. Your monster character design should make sense with the background you’ve provided. For example, if it has wings, it should use them to fly. Monsters aren’t decorative—they're reflections of peoples’ deepest rooted fears.

Psychological traits. Some believe that the true monsters are the ones that lurk inside our own minds. Monsters can scare us when they play into phobias, like Pennywise from Stephen King’s It (1986), who appeared as a vicious clown but also took the form of the main characters’ greatest fears. Monsters can also be symbolic or emotional manifestations. Sometimes monsters don’t need to interact with the characters at all—the characters build the fear around the idea of the monster themselves—which can amplify the terror that readers and viewers feel along with them.

Its targets. Does it feed on children? Is it attracted to despair? Does it get violent at the scent of blood? What triggers your monster? When does it appear, and why? Knowing what motivates your monster is the key to figuring out why it behaves the way it does and creates a sense of understanding for your audience.

Its weaknesses. Is there anything that can vanquish your monster? Is it able to be defeated? Does it hate daylight? Giving your monster its own rules and limits can help establish a believable creature. However, lacking a weakness can also be part of your monster’s horror as well.

How to Write a Monster

If you’re looking for how to make a monster of your own, there are a few guidelines you can follow to make your new monster feel like a real monster:

Provide a little background. Your monster may not exist in the real world, but it still needs some logical follow-through. Where did it come from? Why does it look the way it does? Is it man-made like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1823)? Or is it a natural creature like Beowulf’s Grendel? You don’t have to answer every question about your monster in your writing (sometimes the unknown is just as scary), however, the audience should know a little background information to envision a full enough picture.

Leave space for the imagination. Even though you want the audience to get a complete picture of your monstrosity, a person’s own imagination can always be scarier than anything someone else could create, like the Jabberwock from Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem The Jabberwocky (1871). Leaving room for your reader to fill in the gaps may result in them imagining their own worst personal fears in conjunction with whatever horrors you’ve already laid out.

Give it a name. Personifying a monster draws it a little closer into real-life, and giving something a name makes it feel more tangible. Sometimes the fear of a name lies in its ambiguity, like John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing,’ or it can be a name that feels scary and powerful, like Tomoyuki Tanaka’s ‘Godzilla.’ Or sometimes, it’s the existing name of a horrific mythological villain like ‘Typhon.’

Make it hard to kill. Sometimes a monster is relentless and needs to be physically fought, and sometimes there’s a secret or trick to killing it that is unknown until later on in the story. Monsters that cannot be defeated easily create big moments of tension and anticipation for readers and viewers alike. The harder to kill, the scarier they become.

Examples: Monsters in Literature

Monsters can be science fiction creations with gaping maws and poisonous fangs, but they can also be like human beings as well, like a rogue android or possessed parent.

Count Dracula: Infamous vampire from Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897).

Balrogs: Menacing monsters of fire and shadow in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series (1937).

Mr. Hyde: Evil alter-ego of the character Dr. Jekyll, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).

The Giant Squid: The monster from the depths in Jules Verne’s classic, Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1872).

Jack Torrance: The alcoholic father from Stephen King’s The Shining (1977).

Source ⚜ Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

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Writing Notes: Plot Method

The Save the Cat! Beat Sheet was originally developed by Blake Snyder to help screenwriters plot movies, but it works just as well with novels.

It breaks down the 3-act structure into small, specific sections (sometimes just one scene long).

Each section pushes your story forward in its own way.

The exact word count/page count of each section depends on how long your novel is and what type of story you’re telling, but you can use the colored chart below and the percentages in the instructions as a guide. 

Context Note: This method is based on the concept of the Three Act Structure, which is an inherently Western approach to plot. It can be a useful way to tell a story, but it is by no means the only one.

ACT 1

Opening Image (0-1%)

Show a “before” snapshot of your protagonist and their world.

What is life like before the adventure begins?

It represents the struggle & tone of the story.

Set-up (1-10%)

Expand on the “before” snapshot.

Explore your protagonist’s life, including the internal flaws and external challenges they’ll have to overcome in order to change for the better by the end of the story.

Present the main character’s world as it is, and what is missing in their life.

Also introduce important supporting characters.

Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up)

What your story is about; the message, the truth.

Usually, it is spoken to the main character or in their presence, but they don’t understand the truth/lesson…not until later, when they have some personal experience and context to support it.

Thus, include a scene where a character says something that hints at what the protagonist’s big life lesson will be - how they’ll have to change and grow by the end of the story.

Catalyst (10%)

The moment where life as it is changes.

Examples: It is the telegram, the act of catching your loved-one cheating, allowing a monster onboard the ship, meeting the true love of your life, etc.

There’s no going back to the “before” world from here… What is the inciting incident that pushes the protagonist into the next phase of the story?

Debate (11-20%)

But change is scary and for a moment, or a brief number of moments, the main character doubts the journey they must take.

Show the protagonist questioning themselves and resisting the path ahead - wondering whether they have what it takes, or whether or they should just run home and hide under the bed.

“Should I just…?” “I really shouldn’t because…” “But what about…” Can I face this challenge? Do I have what it takes? Should I go at all?

It is the last chance for the hero to chicken out.

ACT 2

Break Into 2 (20%; Choosing Act Two)

The main character makes a choice and the journey begins.

We leave the “Thesis” world and enter the upside-down, opposite world of Act 2.

They make the choice to begin their adventure/transformation/journey/new thing.

Show your protagonist deciding to plunge into Act 2.

The Promise of the Premise (21-50%)

This is when the reader thinks “Ah, now we’re getting to the good stuff they hinted at on the back cover of this book!”

It’s also one of the longest sections in your book.

Show your protagonist getting used to their new world - loving it, hating it, making mistakes or doing well, meeting new people (see more below) and keeping the reader entertained.

This is when the main character explores the new world and the audience is entertained by the premise they have been promised.

B Story (happens during The Promise of the Premise)

This is when there’s a discussion about the Theme – the nugget of truth.

Usually, this discussion is between the main character and the love interest.

So, the B Story is usually called the “love story”.

Introduce a new character or characters who will eventually help the protagonist learn their life lesson.

Friends? Mentors? Love interests? Nemeses (nemesi?)? Who are they? How will they help?

Midpoint (50%)

This moment is when everything seems “great” or everything seems “awful,” depending on your story.

The main character either gets everything they think they want (“great”) or doesn’t get what they think they want at all (“awful”).

Either the Fun and Games section has lead to a false victory for your protagonist (they think they’ve been doing great so far) or a false defeat (they’ve been having a hard time so far).

What happens in this moment, halfway between beginning and end?

But not everything we think we want is what we actually need in the end.

Bad Guys Close In (51-75%)

Get ready for a bumpy ride. If your Midpoint was a false victory, now things start to go wrong for your protagonist.

If the Midpoint was a false defeat, well, things seem to be looking up, but the bad guys are getting closer and will have something to say.

Note: Bad guys can be actual physical enemies, but they can also be emotional enemies, like doubt or jealousy or fear.

Doubt, jealousy, fear, foes both physical and emotional regroup to defeat the main character’s goal, and the main character’s “great”/“awful” situation disintegrates.

Show the protagonist’s newly-built world beginning to unravel.

This will also be one of the longer sections in your novel.

All is Lost (75%)

This is when something happens to make your character hit rock bottom.

It’s the absolute lowest part of your novel.

Maybe someone or something dies (either literally or figuratively).

The initial goal now looks even more impossible than before. And here, something or someone dies.

It can be physical or emotional, but the death of something old makes way for something new to be born.

What does this moment look like for your protagonist?

Dark Night of the Soul (76-80%)

Your protagonist now has time to react to their “All is lost” moment, to mourn what they lost and wallow in hopelessness.

They’re worse off than they were at the beginning of the novel.

Show how low things have gotten.

Mourning the loss of what has “died” – the dream, the goal, the mentor character, the love of your life, etc.

But, you must fall completely before you can pick yourself back up and try again.

ACT 3

Break Into 3 (80%; Choosing Act Three)

The “aha!” moment; the “lift yourself up and try again” moment.

Show the protagonist realizing what they need to do in order to tackle their problems, both external and internal.

Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration, or last-minute Thematic advice from the B Story (usually the love interest), the main character chooses to try again.

Finale (81-99%)

The protagonist does what they decided to do in the Break Intro 3 beat, and (because of all the learning/growing they’ve done and the support or insight from the B Story), their plan works.

This time around, the main character incorporates the Theme – the nugget of truth that now makes sense to them – into their fight for the goal because they have experience from the A Story and context from the B Story.

The Bad Guys are defeated, the world is changed for the better.

What are the battles? How will the protagonist triumph (or not)?

This is another longer section, so you’ve got the space to make things dramatic and intense.

Act Three is about Synthesis.

Final Image (99-100%)

This is the opposite of the Opening Image, the “after” snapshot instead of the “before.”

Show the reader how the protagonist and their world have changed.

THE END

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ Writing Notes & References

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Ways to add horror and suspense

• Restrict what the narrator can see! First or third person limited is best. (Let the imaginations of the narrator suggest the worst)

[Character] could barely see a thing in the gloom. All in front were shadows hidden in the mist. They were going into this totally blind. For all they knew, the ground could be littered with sinkholes and pits that were not seen until it was too late.

• Short sentences create a sense of urgency. Keep paragraphs short and add exclamation points.

I ran. Faster than I ran before.

Feet hammered. Heart pounded.

Behind the door shuttered.

Crash!

It was blown clean off its hinges.

• If there is a monster, don’t over describe. Less is more. Drop information in gradually.

In the shadows were two eyes. Blood red, they glowed like a furnace. Barely visible, the outline was humanoid with long, spidery limbs.

…

The beast halted and sniffed the air. Every now and then it would turn its jagged, vulture-like head in an attempt to regain the scent.

• Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere

The wind had a mournful quality about it, and every so often, the crash of the waves against the sea caves embedded in the cliffs sent off sounds that went from low moans, to cries of anguish, to eerily human mutterings.

• The uncanny valley is a great way to make characters uncomfortable!

The entity was… I wouldn’t call it human. There was a waxy quality about it. All the features were smooth and looked painted on. Their eyes were doll’s eyes; glassy and lifeless.

• Places can be uncanny too.

From the first moment he opened the door, [character] knew something was off. This place was absolutely lifeless. No evidence of ever being occupied. No dust, no abandoned furniture, no game trails or other signs of animals. The walls were smooth and seamless. No sign of degradation. It was like a computer rendition of a building interior.

• Anything can be scary. Maybe the narrator had a rare phobia.

The square always made my heart pound and sweat pour down my brows. All those people in one place. A writhing, crushing mass of humanity. A rolling tide ready to sweep away those who let their guard down for even a millisecond.

• Put character(s) in a situation where they are powerless, and the monster is in control.

Whumpee was thrown across the room. They hit the wall with a loud thud before slumping to the ground. Whatever the torturer was…it was a total monster. It had a complete mastery over the facility, and could appear when and where it pleased. There was no escape. The only way one would know the torturer was near was when it clamped down with vice-like strength, and a speed faster than any runner.

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How To Scare Your Readers

tw: mentions of murder and other horror media, its not specific or gorey but I just wanted to mention it

Today is one my hardest asks as it is a highly individual process to freaking out your audience with @differentnighttale asking: "How do you write horror, and how do you write it good nail biting and very unsettling type of horror."

Specifically, we are focusing on supernatural horror and dark fantasy. Due to the fact that there are numerous ways of scaring an audience, I'm going to focus on more diverse and interesting ways to freak out the readers. There are obvious tricks like "focus on the tactile senses" and stuff like that but let's cover something not as cliche!

Again, there are many ways to instill horror.

One: Combine Beauty And The Macabre

While this is a common trick seen in visual horror such as the works of Junji Ito or Midsommar, it's also an important and useful element in other beloved horror media.

This can be useful for a myriad of reasons.

The ability to combine the fantastical beauty of the scenery with death or the lovingly detailed imagery of a victimized body might be just the thing to elevate the scenery and visuals.

It also works to surprise your readers. If you are reading horror, you expect the murder and terror to appear in dark hospitals and obviously disgusting places. But what if the horror was in a cherry blossom field? In the church? In the character's childhood bedroom during the sunset?

It follows the perversion of the familiar. Most people internalize certain environments are seperated from society which might assist you if you are going for that specific type of horror. BUT! If you have horror in the supermarket, in the coziest little cottage, in the beauty.

TWO: Focus On A Specific Brand Of Horror

This is especially important for horror that is based off of pop culture spooks such as ghosts, ghouls, witches, zombies, and werewolfs.

Doing some research into why these monsters have survived in the public mind and what exactly is frightening abou them can influence your settings, characters, and horror.

There is horror about isolation.

There is horror about losing yourself.

There is horror about the female body.

There is horror about puberty.

There is horror about gender dysphoria.

There is horror about everything.

Decide what is the core fear you are proding at.

THREE: Be Ambiguous

Readers are comforted by linear stories with a beginning, clearly laid out morality, and a clear cut ending which provides either a happy ending or a sad ending.

Messing up any one of these things can lead to your story haunting the minds of your audience for a long time.

Midsommar is constantly debated about over if the ending is happy or sad.

Joker(2019), a thriller but not a horror, is infamous for it's amazing usage of hallucination and delusion to tell a non-linear story with a confusing ending.

Leaving the ending, villain, characters, or plot ambiguous and not clearly detailed might elevate your horror :)

FOUR: Use Your Own Fears

When you write about what scares you, that natural fear tends to radiate into your writing more naturally :)

This fear can be a lot of things from the specific phobia of bugs to the fear of being mistreated by a loved one.

Conclusion:

I hope I gave you some interesting advice that you haven't heard before @differentnighttale

p.s: at what point does something become "Mature"? I did mention "murder" throughout my post somewhat frequently but I never went into specific detail so I can't tell if it's "Mature" or not?

If it is mature and I mislabeled it then I can edit it to be "Mature"

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pinterest drop

got a pinterest? drop it here. or just follow mine.

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WIP INTRODUCTION

The Last Train from Salvation by MG Ellison

GENRE || new adult queer religious horror

POV || first person present tense

SETTING || northwest new jersey, present day

INSPIRATIONS || Night in the Woods, Hell Followed With Us, Where Darkness Blooms, Sadie

LOGLINE || Three years after running away from her isolated religious hometown of Salvation, 21 year old Daisy Shepherd experiences something that changes her world. In her spiraling she can only think of one place to go - home. Only things are not as they were three years ago; or maybe they are, and she's only just now learning the truth.

VIBES || pinterest board and playlist

STATUS || currently working on first draft, hope to be done with it sometime in february

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Writing References: For the Poets

A List of: Terminology Part 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ Genres

Forms: Tercet ⚜ Quatrain ⚜ Cinquain ⚜ Sixaine ⚜ Septet

Forms: Ottava Rima ⚜ Spenserian Stanza ⚜ Sonnet

Found Poetry ⚜ Hamartia & Hubris ⚜ Meter ⚜ Mood & Motif

Imagery ⚜ Irony ⚜ Common Metaphors ⚜ Mixed Metaphors

Symbolism ⚜ Theme ⚜ Tone (Examples)

How to Write Poetry ⚜ How to say, "I love you"

Famous Lines

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice (T. S. Eliot)

He was my North, my South, my East and West (W. H. Auden)

"Hope" is the thing with feathers (Emily Dickinson)

I wandered lonely as a cloud (William Wordsworth)

She walks in beauty, like the night (Lord Byron)

‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all (Tennyson)

To be or not to be: that is the question (Shakespeare)

Poetry Prompts

Poetry is... ⚜ First Lines ⚜ Last Lines Part 1 2

List Poem ⚜ Persona Poem ⚜ Poetic Map ⚜ Portrait of a Poet

Lemons ⚜ No Words ⚜ Rewrite ⚜ Untitled

Talking to Art ⚜ The Invisible ⚜ The Persona ⚜ The Same Thing

Writing Notes

Emotions ⚜ Fossil Words ⚜ Palindromes ⚜ Writers' Sleep Habits

George Orwell: On Poetry ⚜ Nonsense Poetry

Virginia Woolf: On Words ⚜ Sensory Words ⚜ Terms of Endearment

Symbolisms: Colours Part 1 2 ⚜ Food ⚜ Numbers ⚜ Storms

Writing Resources PDFs

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NaNo Alternatives

Okay, real post time (but keep those boops booping) - You want to do NaNoWriMo tomorrow, but you don't want to go anywhere near the main organization and their website. Here's a list of alternatives you can try:

Rogue Writers - International group launched to provide an alternative for writers. Their website has challenges, free tools, and more.

myWriteClub - Word tracking tool.

Novlr - A writing app designed to help you meet your writing goals.

WriteTrack - Word tracking tool.

Shut Up and Write - Find in-person or online groups to write together with!

NoQuWriCo - A November writing challenge with tools, tips, and encouragement to make it through the month! (Thanks to someone letting me know - this is a Christian alternative. Try another if that does not appeal to you!)

Writing Month - Write. A Month. Do It.

Your local library - If you did NaNo events through your library, chances are they're still doing it this year. Make sure you check in with all the resources you've used in the past, as they're likely still around.

Whatever you decide to do tomorrow, good luck! And remember, if you want to still use the NaNo website but don't like their AI policies and the rest of it, just don't give them money! Laugh to yourself, evilly, as you update your word count. It's very validating.

(Now back to booping.)

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Things I’ve noticed are essential in plotting and would probably have saved me a lot of time if I had considered it earlier

The START of your story - how fucked up flawed is your premise/character at the start? what do they have to change? why are they HERE?

The END of your story - How do you want your main character/theme/universe to change after your story? Does it get better or worse? THIS SETS UP THE TONE DRASTICALLY.

What you want to happen IN BETWEEN - the MEAT of it. What made you start writing this WIP in the first place. Don't be ashamed to indulge, it's where the BRAIN JUICE comes from. You want a deep dive into worldbuilding and complex systems? Then your start and end should be rooted in some fundamental, unique rule of your universe (what made you obsess over it?). Want to write unabashed ship content? Make sure your start and end are so compelling you'll never run out of smut scenarios to shove in between scenes (what relationship dynamics made you ship it in the first place?).

The ANTE - the GRAVITY of your story. How high are the stakes? Writing a blurb or interaction? start with a small day-in-the-life so you can focus on shorter timelines and hourly minutiae that can easily get overlooked in more complicated epics. Or you can go ham on it and plot out your whole universe's timeline from conception to demise. Remember: the larger the scale, the less attached your story may get. How quickly time flies in your story typically correlates with the ante (not a hard rule, ofc, but most epics span years of time within a few pages, while a romance novel usually charts out the events of a few months over a whole manuscript.)

Everything else follows….?

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Best Writing Advice I’ve Ever Received

1. “You can’t edit a blank page.”

This advice hit me like a ton of bricks when I first heard it. It’s so simple, yet so powerful. Writing something—even if it’s not perfect—is better than writing nothing at all. The idea is to get the words out, even if they’re messy, and then fix them later. There’s always room to improve, but the hardest part is starting. So, don’t wait for perfection. Just write.

2. “Show, don’t tell—except when you should tell.”

It’s one of the classic writing rules, and yet, I found this piece of advice to be both a game-changer and a huge relief. So often, we get stuck on the idea that “showing” is the ultimate goal. But sometimes, telling is just as effective. It’s about knowing when to lean into subtlety and when to give the reader exactly what they need upfront.

3. “Write the book you want to read.”

This was one of the most liberating pieces of advice I’ve ever received. So many times, we get caught up in writing what we think people will want to read, or what we think is “marketable.” But when you focus on writing a story you genuinely want to read—one that excites and moves you—everything else falls into place.

4. “Don’t compare your first draft to someone else’s final draft.”

This one is a tough one to swallow, especially in the age of social media where we’re constantly exposed to the polished, perfect versions of other people’s work. It’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind when you compare your rough drafts to someone else’s masterpiece. But every writer starts somewhere, and your first draft is just that—a draft.

5. “Make your characters want something, even if it’s just a glass of water.”

This advice came from a workshop, and it’s one that I’ve come back to time and time again. It’s a reminder that characters need motivation—whether it’s a big goal like saving the world, or something small and personal, like finding a glass of water in the desert. A character without desire is a character that feels flat and uninteresting.

6. “The best way to improve your writing is to read more than you write.”

This advice took me a while to fully understand, but it makes perfect sense. Reading other authors’ work, especially those whose writing you admire, teaches you things that can’t be learned through theory or workshops alone. You’ll pick up on pacing, voice, structure, and what makes a story truly captivating—all while expanding your understanding of storytelling.

7. “Your first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

This was another gem of wisdom that I didn’t fully grasp at first. It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting your first draft to be perfect, but it’s not meant to be. The first draft is for you—to explore the plot, the characters, the world. It’s your chance to get everything down and see where it leads, without worrying about perfection.

8. “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.”

This is one of Stephen King’s rules of writing, and it’s a brilliant one. When you’re drafting, don’t worry about anyone else reading your work. It’s your time to be raw and experimental. But when it comes to revising, open that door—let others in for feedback, because the revision process is where the magic happens.