my-gentle-heart

[my-gentle-heart]

[my-gentle-heart]

Hey, so i'm working on my first WIP, and i wanted to ask about drafting. When can one consider their first draft done? Does it have to have the goal word count (ie; 100K), or would being about halfway there be considered a good enough first draft, that i can move on to the second and start editing?

Concluding each stage of the writing process

It's difficult to know when a phase of a writing project has concluded and you're ready to focus on a new objective as it's developing. I tend to approach my writing projects with a clear and uniform trajectory, regardless of how diverse my projects can be. This approach allows me to remain focused, thorough, and reassured that I am covering all my bases in an organized fashion. However, it also maintains space for me to be explorative and intuitive when necessary. In regards to word count, I don't think it's entirely relevant unless you're determined to adhere to strict genre conventions. Give your story the space it needs and not an extra inch.

(Optional) Zero Draft

In this phase, you're telling yourself the story. You're doing it quickly, messily, intuitively, and forgivingly. Explore every idea that glows in the dark for you, don't throw anything away or discount any possibility. Exhaust your imagination in this phase so that when you reach the first draft, you know you're making informed decisions.

First Draft

You're crafting the structure and core elements of the story. This is often the phase of discovery. You're becoming acquainted with your characters and how they interact, you're beginning to feel at home in the world and settings you've built, and you're seeing all sides of the conflict as it evolves. The goal here is settle on a beginning, middle, and end point, and by the end of this process you want to know your characters' motivations and relationships inside and out.

Second Draft

Go back quickly through the first draft and address any points where you got stuck, where you compromised for the sake of carrying on to the end, and fill in any apparent blanks. The first time you really iron something out, there will always be a few pesky creases. This is the time to find and flatten them.

Third Draft

This is where you question everything. Identify and scrutinize your decisions, dive into the "curtains are blue" discussions with yourself, and begin to tidy up things like grammar, clumsy dialogue, over-poured descriptions, and dubious vocabulary. Comb through each paragraph and be brutal, prioritizing clarity and intentionality of how you've told the story.

The Read Through

This is the point where I recommend doing three things:

Letting it rest away from you for 1-3 months so that you can return to it with a bit of unfamiliarity and new perspective.

Hand it off to a couple of trusted readers and give them ample time to read, digest, and craft some feedback

Reread the project once all the way through making no changes (although annotations are acceptable)

Fourth Draft

Finishing touches. Vigorously and meticulously scrub and scrape between the lines and imagine giving it to your worst enemy. If you can imagine any mean (but valid) things they could conceive of to say about it, this is the time to grapple with or fix those details.

Additional Resources

Guide to Drafting

Word Count/Productivity Tracker Spreadsheet

Balancing Detail & Development

Writing The First Chapter

Writing The Middle of Your Story

Powering Through The Zero-Draft Phase

Writing The Last Chapter

Chapter Length

Happy drafting,

x Kate

[my-gentle-heart]

hi there! i hope you're having an awesome day! i was wondering if you have any writing advice for those who are struggling to write the middle of their stories? i can never seem to think of enough scenes to get from point a to point b (and it's really frustrating). thank you!

Hello! I have also struggled with this, and I’ve found the following method useful, after much experimentation:

List your major subplots and how they relate to your main plot

Go through each subplot and brainstorm scenes ideas that would progress the subplot, as well as propel your main plot forward

Decide which scenes you like and which ones you don’t

Put those scenes in chronological order based simply on what would be easiest to follow for the reader

You now have an outline for the middle! This does NOT include your climax. This is simply the events before and after the climax. Your climax should focus on the main plot, and does not have to be in the middle section of your story.

I hope this helps!

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee.

I’d also really appreciate it if you would check out my separate blog dedicated to my current work in progress.

[my-gentle-heart]

How To Hook Readers (Pt. 1)

What exactly is a hook? A hook is a sentence or scene at the start of your story that grabs your reader’s attention. Most authors believe that your first sentence should be a hook. Here are some techniques you can use when writing the start of your story.

1) Raise questions that your readers NEED to figure out. In my opinion, this is the strongest way to hook readers. The Hunger Games has one of my favorite examples of this. In the very first paragraph, Katniss thinks about how “this is the day of the reaping.” 

This mysterious event is unknown to the audience and intrigues them to read on. In short, you want your readers constantly wondering what will happen next. If you keep up this pattern of questions (and eventual answers), you’ll always be feeding your readers a steady flow of curiosity and then satisfaction once you answer the questions. 

2) Create mystery surrounding your characters. Don’t reveal everything about them right away. Instead, reveal their secrets, fears, lies, faults, and insecurities slowly. If a character walks with a limp, don’t give away the reason behind it right away. If a king is known to be the most feared in all the realm, drop hints and tease the reason— but reveal the full reason why later on.

3) Have the inciting incident occur as soon as possible. The inciting incident is the event that launches your character into the story— something that changes their lives forever. Katniss volunteers as tribute at the beginning of chapter two, and we feel compelled to read further because her whole life has been uprooted, and we want to know how she will deal with her situation.

4) Create a first line that either confuses, startles, or amazes your reader. 

5) Don’t over describe— know what to leave out. While your hook can be unfolding action or a surprise, your hook can also be a mystery. Don’t info-dump or over-explain at the start of your novel. Deliberately leave pieces of information hidden so that your reader’s are hungry to find out the answers.

6) Treat your title as a hook. Some authors will say you need to hook your reader in the first sentence, but really you can start as early as your title. What about your title (or book cover) will cause a passerby to pick it up? Use an intriguing combination of words, or leave them questioning what kind of world is inside the cover.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting  

[my-gentle-heart]

Sparking Chemistry Between Characters

Subtle Gazes and lingering touches:

The eyes are the windows to the soul, and they can convey volumes of unspoken emotions. Describe those stolen glances, the lingering eye contact, and the way their gazes seem to connect on a deeper level. In addition, small touches like a brush of hands or an accidental bump can create electric moments that hint at an underlying romantic attraction. For example:

"Her heart fluttered as she caught him stealing glances, his eyes softly tracing the curves of her smile. With every accidental touch, their hands lingered, sending a current of warmth through their veins."

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Meaningful Conversations and Shared Secrets:

Deep conversations and intimate confessions can be powerful tools for hinting at romantic feelings. When characters open up to one another, revealing their vulnerabilities and dreams, a bond begins to form. These moments create a sense of emotional intimacy that can lay the groundwork for a blossoming romance. Consider this example:

"Underneath the twinkling stars, they shared secrets that they had never uttered to anyone else. As he listened to her dreams, he realized that he wanted to be a part of them, and a warm smile played on his lips."

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Playful Teasing and Banter:

Ah, the age-old art of witty banter! This lighthearted exchange of playful jabs and teasing remarks can build tension and create a magnetic pull between characters. It allows them to establish a unique connection filled with laughter and friendly competition. Here's an example:

"Their banter was a delightful dance of sharp wit and quick comebacks. Every retort was like a playful spark that kept the fire between them burning bright, a dance they couldn't resist joining every chance they got."

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Unspoken Jealousy and Protective Gestures:

Jealousy can be a potent emotion to hint at unexpressed romantic feelings. When one character starts to feel protective or slightly possessive, it suggests a deeper connection brewing beneath the surface. Show how they react to potential rivals or display signs of concern for each other's well-being. Check out this snippet:

"Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed the subtle tightening of his jawline when he saw her laughing with someone else. His fingers tapped nervously, silently craving her attention, and he couldn't help but step closer, ready to ward off any potential threats."

[my-gentle-heart]

Character flaws that can add depth and complexity to your characters:

1. Stubbornness: A character who is excessively stubborn may refuse to listen to others' perspectives or admit when they're wrong, leading to conflicts and missed opportunities for growth.

2. Impulsiveness: An impulsive character acts without thinking, often leading to hasty decisions or reckless behavior that can have negative consequences.

3. Jealousy: A character plagued by jealousy may struggle with feelings of insecurity and possessiveness, causing strain in relationships and potential conflicts with others.

4. Indecisiveness: An indecisive character finds it difficult to make choices, leading to delays, missed opportunities, and frustration from others.

5. Arrogance: An arrogant character believes they are superior to others and often dismisses or belittles those around them, creating tension and damaged relationships.

6. Insecurity: A character with deep-seated insecurity may constantly seek validation and struggle with self-doubt, impacting their decisions and relationships.

7. Impatience: An impatient character lacks tolerance for delays or setbacks, which can lead to rushed actions, poor judgment, and strained relationships.

8. Manipulativeness: A manipulative character uses deceit and manipulation to control others for their own gain, creating a web of lies and mistrust.

9. Hot-tempered: A hot-tempered character easily becomes angry or loses their temper, leading to impulsive actions, damaged relationships, and potential violence.

10. Perfectionism: A perfectionistic character sets impossibly high standards for themselves and others, often leading to stress, frustration, and strained relationships.

11. Distrust: A character with trust issues struggles to trust others, leading to difficulty forming meaningful connections and maintaining healthy relationships.

12. Procrastination: A character who frequently procrastinates avoids tasks or responsibilities, causing unnecessary stress and potential negative consequences.

13. Selfishness: A selfish character prioritizes their own needs and desires above others, disregarding the feelings and well-being of those around them.

14. Pessimism: A pessimistic character constantly expects the worst outcome, which can lead to negativity, lack of motivation, and strained relationships.

15. Impulsiveness: An impulsive character acts on their immediate desires without considering the consequences, often leading to reckless behavior and regrets.

flaws make characters more relatable and human. They create internal and external conflicts and provide opportunities for growth and development throughout your story.

Happy writing!

[my-gentle-heart]

I hate to say this, and like, rain on everyone’s parade, but after scrolling past three posts about it on a writing tag …

If you are looking up synonyms to exchange words out in your story with the purpose of sounding smarter, more sophisticated, or complicated to your reader, you are probably abusing the thesaurus.

Now, if you *want* to do this, I mean, you can write whatever or however you want! But I just want you to know that this is frowned upon if you are trying to write at a professional level.

I have an old article on this somewhere …

If you want to look at the original article…

https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2018/08/how-to-use-thesaurus-properly.html

[my-gentle-heart]

Awesome Sites and Links for Writers

Just about every writer out there has several go-to websites that they use when it comes to their writing. Be it for creativity, writer’s block, to put you in the mood or general writing help. These are mine and I listed them in hopes that you’ll find something that you’ll like or find something useful. I’ve also included some websites that sounded interesting, but I haven’t tried out yet.

Spelling & Grammar

Grammar Girl – Grammar Girl’s famous Quick and Dirty Tips (delivered via blog or podcast) will help you keep your creative writing error free.

The Owl – is Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL), an academic source from Purdue University (which is in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.). It’s contains plenty of grammar guides, style tips and other information that can help with your writing, it’s especially great for academics.

Tip of My Tongue — have you ever had trouble of thinking of a specific word that you can’t remember what it is? Well, this site will help you narrow down your thoughts and find that word you’ve been looking for. It can be extremely frustrating when you have to stop writing because you get a stuck on a word, so this should help cut that down. 

Free Rice – is a great way to test your vocabulary knowledge. What’s even better about this site is that with every correct answer, they donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program. So, please disable your adblock since they use the ads on the site to generate the money to buy the rice.

HyperGrammar – is from the University of Ottawa (a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) that offers up a one-stop guide for proper spelling, structure, and punctuation. Being that this comes from a Canadian university, that means that they use standard Oxford English Dictionary spelling. Basically that means you’ll get British English, which differs slightly from formal American English.

AutoCrit – the AutoCrit Editing Wizard analyzes your manuscript to identify areas for improvement, including pacing and momentum, dialogue, strong writing, word choice and repetition. It also provides a number of other writing resources as well. It’s not free, but they do offer 200 characters for analysis at no charge. It’s $29.97 per month or $359.64 for an annual membership. 

Virtual Writing Tutor – is a free online grammar check website that helps writers count words, check spelling, check grammar and punctuation, check paraphrasing, and improve word choice. This website is free to use, and membership is also completely free. Non-members are only able to check 500 words though.

ProWritingAid – is another automatic editing tool that analyzes your writing and produces reports on areas such as overused words, writing style, sentence length, grammar and repeated words and phrases. They offer a free sample, but you have to make an account to try it out. It’s $3.33 per month ($40 annually, or less if you purchase a longer license).

Scribens – is a free English spelling and grammar checker. It also detects stylistic elements such as repetitions, run-on sentences, redundancies, and more. And it even suggests synonyms for every word.

Writer’s Digest – learn how to improve your writing, find an agent, and even get published with the help of the varied blogs on this site.

Paper Rater – uses Artificial Intelligence to improve your writing. It includes grammar, plagiarism, and spelling check, along with word choice analysis. The basic version is completely free, but they do offer premium subscription for people seeking more advanced features. If you’re interested it’s $14.95 per month or $95.40 per year if you decide to get it.

Syntaxis – it allows you to test your knowledge of grammar with a ten-question quiz. The questions change every time you take the quiz so users are sure to be challenged each time around. It definitely helps writers know if there’s something that they need to brush up on.

Word Frequency Counter – this counter allows you to count the frequency usage of each word in your text. This is especially good when you have a bad habit of using certain words like ‘really’, ‘very’ or ‘a lot’ in your writing.

GrammarCheck – is a free, easy, and secure online tool to proofread any English text.

EditMinion – is a free robotic copy editor that helps you to refine your writing by finding common mistakes.

Proofreading for Common Errors – this is a simple tutorial on proofreading your writing by Indiana University.

BBC – has a section for helping you with your skills, especially in writing, from grammar to spelling, to reading, to listening and to speaking.

Tools

Copyscape – is a free service that you can use to learn if anyone has plagiarized your work. It’s pretty useful for those that want to check for fanfiction plagiarism.

Plagium – is another a copy detection system, that provides a very similar service to Copyscape and uses Yahoo! rather than Google to perform its searches. Just keep in mind that searches for simple text up to 25,000 characters remains free of charge, but any larger requires credits to be purchase.

Plagiarism Detector – is a free software that can be used to check for plagiarism in documents and URL links. It offers only a limit of 800 words for free. This also supports 12 languages, including English, Malay, Arabic, Indonesian and more. 

DupliChecker – is a free and accurate online tool to check plagiarism. Just Copy & Paste to detect copied content. However, it offers 1000 words limit per search for free, if you want to check more than that, then you have to create a PRO account which costs $10/monthly for the basic plan.

Write or Die – is an web application for Windows, Mac and Linux which aims to eliminate writer’s block by providing consequences for procrastination. It lets you try it for free, but the desktop version is available for $10. The Write or Die iPad app is $9.99 in the app store. If you’re really old school, the original web app can still be launched with its modest settings.

Written? Kitten! – is similar to Write or Die, but it’s a kinder version and it’s completely free. They use positive reinforcement, so every time you reach a goal they reward you with an adorable picture of a kitten.

Fast Fingers – offers you an easy way to improve your typing skills. It’s puts you through a quick typing game that tests your typing speed and improves it at the same time. It’s also a great way for writers to warm up.

Information & Data

RefDesk – it has an enormous collection of reference materials, searchable databases and other great resources that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s great to use when you need to find something and/or check your facts.

Bib Me – it makes it easy to create citations, build bibliographies and acknowledge other people’s work. This is definitely something that academics will love. It’s basically a bibliography generator that automatically fills in a works cited page in MLA, APA, Chicago or Turbian formats.

Internet Public Library – is a non-profit, largely student-run website managed by a consortium, headed by Drexel University. Currently this online library is inactive, but it’s still full of resources that are free for anyone to use, from newspaper and magazine articles to special collections. Just keep in mind that it’s not up to date, since they stopped maintaining it on June 30, 2015.

The Library of Congress – if you’re looking for primary documents and information, the Library of Congress is a great place to start. It has millions of items in its archives, many of which are accessible right from the website.

Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names – is the most accurate list of popular names from 1879 to the present. If your character is from America and you need a name for them, this gives you a accurate list of names, just pick the state or decade that your character is from.

WebMD – is a handy medical database loaded with information. It’s not a substitute for a doctor, but can give you a lot of good information on diseases, symptoms, treatments, etc.

MedlinePlus – is the National Institutes of Health’s web site that contains information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues in language you can understand. It also offers reliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere, for free. You can use the site to learn about the latest treatments, look up information on a drug or supplement, find out the meanings of words, or view medical videos or illustrations. You can also get links to the latest medical research on your topic or find out about clinical trials on a disease or condition.

Mayo Clinic – is a nonprofit medical practice and medical research group.

World Health Organization (WHO) – is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. Its current priorities include communicable diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; the mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and ageing; nutrition, food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and driving the development of reporting, publications, and networking.

Google Scholar – is an online, freely accessible search engine that lets users look for both physical and digital copies of articles. It searches a wide variety of sources, including academic publishers, universities, and preprint depositories and so on. While Google Scholar does search for print and online scholarly information, it is important to understand that the resource is not a database.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac – this classic almanac offers yearly information on astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.

State Health Facts – Kaiser Family Foundation provides this database, full of health facts on a state-by-state basis that address everything from medicare to women’s health.

U.S. Census Bureau – you can learn more about the trends and demographics of America with information drawn from the Census Bureau’s online site.

Wikipedia – this shouldn’t be used as your sole source, but it can be a great way to get basic information and find out where to look for additional references, which is at the bottom in the citations section. 

Finding Data on the Internet – a great website that list links that can tell you where you can find the inflation rate, crime statistics, and other data.

Word References

RhymeZone – whether you’re writing poetry, songs, or something else entirely, you can get help rhyming words with this site.

Acronym Finder – with more than 565,000 human-edited entries, Acronym Finder is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initials.

Symbols.com – is a unique online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more. 

OneLook Reverse Dictionary – is a dictionary that lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept. Your description can be a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word. 

The Alternative Dictionaries – is a PDF, that contains a list of slang words in all types of languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Norwegian and many, many others. There use to be a website, but it’s not there anymore and this is the next best thing I could find.

Online Etymology Dictionary – it gives you the history and derivation of any word. Etymologies are not definitions; they’re explanations of what our words meant and how they sounded 600 or 2,000 years ago.

MediLexicon – is a comprehensive dictionary of medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care abbreviations and acronyms.

Merriam Webster Online – the online version of the classic dictionary also provides a thesaurus and a medical dictionary.

Multilingual Dictionary – it translate whatever you need from 30 different languages with this easy-to-use site.

Collins Online Dictionary – is a free online dictionary and reference resource draw on the wealth of reliable and authoritative information about language, thanks to the extensive use of their vast databases of language; both in English and in other languages.

Writing Software

Open Office – why pay for Microsoft products when you can create free documents with Open Office? This open source software provides similar tools to the Microsoft Office Suite, including spreadsheets, a word processor, the ability to create multimedia presentations, and more.

LibreOffice – is a free and open source office suite. It was forked from OpenOffice.org in 2010, which was an open-sourced version of the earlier StarOffice. The LibreOffice suite comprises programs to do word processing, spreadsheets, slideshows, diagrams and drawings, maintain databases, and compose math formula.

Scrivener – is not a free program, but it’s certainly a very popular one. It's great for organizing research, planning drafts, and writing novels, articles, short stories, and even screenplays.

OmmWriter – is for Mac OS X, a free simple text processor that gives you a distraction free environment. So you can focus only on your writing without being tempted or distracted by other programs on your computer. They are currently working on a Windows version of their software as well, so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested.

FocusWriter – is a completely free full-screen writing application designed to immerse you in your writing. It keeps your writing space simple and clean without sacrificing functionality. It includes a daily goal tracker, work count and time spent writing. There’s also spell checking, real-time feedback on variables like word and page count, and tabbed document browsing. It's available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Q10 – is a free portable distraction-free writing tool for Windows. The interface includes nothing but a tiny bar at the bottom that displays the character, word, and page count—you can toggle the bar off for a totally distraction free workspace. 

Evernote – is a free app for your smartphone and computer that stores everything you could possibly imagine losing track of, like a boarding pass, receipt, article you want to read, to do list, or even a simple typed note. The app works brilliantly, keeping everything in sync between your computer, smartphone, or tablet. It’s definitely a useful app for writers when you have ideas on the go.

ScriptBuddy – is a full-fledged screenplay software program. It handles the proper screenplay format automatically, so you can concentrate on your story. It is easy to use and the basic version is free.

TheSage – is a free application, which is a comprehensive English dictionary and thesaurus that provides a number of useful and in some cases unusual search tools.

Sigil – is ideal for e-book authors because it's a free EPUB editor with a stack of essential features.

WriterDuet – is a collaborative screenwriting app for working with writing partners in real-time. It also lets you copy text written in Fountain, or other screenwriting programs (Final Draft, Celtx, etc.) and paste it directly into WriterDuet with the correct formatting most of the time. They offer the basic version for free, WriterDuet Pro ($9.00 monthly, $79 yearly and $199 lifetime) and WriterDuet Premium ($299 yearly). WriterDuet works on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chromebooks, iOS, and Android. It gives identical page counts on all devices, and PDFs.

ZenWriter – is a program that gives you an open, peaceful place for composing your thoughts without any distractions. It’s a fullscreen text editor that offers customizable backgrounds, music, and a nifty word count at the bottom of the window. It’s not free, but it does offer a free trial for 15 days. It is available for Windows, and after the 15-day trial period you can choose to purchase it for $17.50 if you want.

WriteMonkey – is a Windows writing application with an extremely stripped down user interface, leaving you alone with your thoughts and your words. It is light, fast and free. It’s also an portable app, so you can stick it on a USB drive and use in on whatever computer you happen to find yourself at.

YWriter5 – is a free word processor and is designed for Windows XP, Vista and beyond. It's a small but very comprehensive tool which helps you to plan your story. It breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you to keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. You can set up deadlines, for instance, and the program’s Work Schedule report will let you know how much you’ll have to do, each day, to finish on time. You can even enter your characters, locations and items and freely organize them into scenes. This definitely sounds like it’ll be useful for NaNoWriMo writers.

Kingsoft Office (WPS Office) – is an office suite for Microsoft Windows, Linux, iOS and Android OS. The basic version is free to use, but a fully featured professional-grade version is also available. This software allows users to view, create and share office documents that are fully compatible with dozens of document formats, including Microsoft PowerPoint, Word and Excel. In other words, the format is similar to a Microsoft Word document (.DOC or .DOCX file) and supports formatted text, images, and advanced page formatting. Kingsoft Writer documents can be converted to Microsoft Word *.doc files in the software.

Creativity, Fun & Miscellaneous

National Novel Writing Month – is one of the most well-known writing challenges in the writing community. National Novel Writing Month pushes you to write 50,000 words in 30 days (for the whole month of November).

WritingFix – a fun site that creates writing prompts on the spot. The site currently has several options—prompts for right-brained people, for left-brained people, for kids—and is working to add prompts on classic literature, music and more.

Creative Writing Prompts – the site is exactly what it says. They have 100+ and more, of prompts that you can choose from.

My Fonts – is the world’s largest collection of fonts. You can even upload an image containing a font that you like, and this tells you what it is. Just keep in mind that not all of the fonts are free.

DaFont – has lot of fonts as well, most of them are completely free to download. However, some are demo versions or are only free if you used it for personal use and not commercial use.

Story Starters – this website offers over one trillion randomly generated story starters for creative writers.

The Gutenberg Project – this site is perfect for those who like to read and/or have an e-reader. There’s over 33,000 ebooks you can download for free. 

The Imagination Prompt Generator – click through the prompts to generate different ideas in response to questions like “Is there a God?” and “If your tears could speak to you, what would they say?”

The Phrase Finder – this handy site helps you hunt down famous phrases, along with their origins. It also offers a phrase thesaurus that can help you create headlines, lyrics, and much more.

Storybird – this site allows you to write a picture book. They provided the gorgeous artwork and you create the story for it, or just read the stories that others have created.

Language Is a Virus – the automatic prompt generator on this site can provide writers with an endless number of creative writing prompts. Other resources include writing exercises and information on dozens of different authors.

Background Noise/Music

SimplyNoise – a free white noise sounds that you can use to drown out everything around you and help you focus on your writing.

Rainy Mood – from the same founders of Simply Noise, this website offers the pleasant sound of rain and thunderstorms. There's a slide volume control, which you can increase the intensity of the noise (gentle shower to heavy storm), thunder mode (often, few, rare), oscillation button, and a sleep timer. 

Coffitivity – a site that provides three background noises: Morning Murmur (a gentle hum), Lunchtime Lounge (bustling chatter), and University Undertones (campus cafe). A pause button is provided whenever you need a bladder break, and a sliding volume control to give you the freedom to find the perfect level for your needs and moods. It’s also available as an android app, iOS app, and for Mac desktop. If you go  Premium it’s $9 and you’ll get 1 year of unlimited listening to their audio tracks and access to three more sounds: Paris Paradise, Brazil Bistro and Texas Teahouse.

Rainy Cafe – it provides background chatter in coffee shops (similar to Coffitivity) AND the sound of rain (similar to Simply Rain). There’s also individual volume and on/off control for each sound category.

Forest Mood – is background noise of the forest.

MyNoise – is a website with multi-purpose noise generator that is completely free. It helps you to focus while working in a noisy environment or to help settle your anxiety and it’s also useful in cases of insomnia or tinnitus. It has so many sounds to choose from: Fish Tank, Clockwork, Gregorian Voices, Traffic Noise, Train and Railroad, Japanese Garden, and so on.

MyNoise: Online Fire Noise Generator – is also from NyNoise, but it’s a short-cut link for those that only want to hear the sound of fire crackling in a fireplace.

Snowy Mood – is a noise generator that plays sounds of boots walking through snow on an endless loop. It’s simple and straightforward, and perfect for those days when you feel like being snowed in.

Noisli – is a background noise generator that helps you to drown out annoying noises in order to create your perfect environment for working and relaxing. You can mix different sounds together, such as rain and a train or fire and the night sound of crickets or with the waves at a beach. 

Purrli – is a white noise generator that recreates the sound and the presence of a cat purring next to you.  

Ambient Mixer – is a free online audio mixing tool in which you can create and edit your own ambient music or background sounds. You can even listen to other people’s mixes such as Gryffindor Common Room, Riding with the Winchesters, Mr. Tumnus’ House, A Day in Camp Half-Blood, and so on.

8tracks – is an internet radio website and everyone can listen for free, well it use to be completely free. Unlike other music oriented social network such as Pandora or Spotify, 8tracks doesn’t have commercial interruption (that’s if you get 8tracks Plus). Users can create free accounts and can either browse the site and listen to other user-created mixes for as long as they like, and/or they can create their own mixes. It’s a perfect place to listen to other writer’s playlist, share yours or find music for specific characters or moods. Note: Joining is still free, however you’re now limited to 1 hour of free listening for each week (or more depending on how much people like your mixes, but I’ve been told the limitation is for those in the US only). If you want unlimited access it’s $30 per year or $5.00 a month.

Playmoss – with 8tracks no longer having free unlimited listening and no commercial interruptions many people looked for an alternative and Playmoss is what 8tracks use to be. Playmoss is free to join and it has all the same basic features that 8tracks has, only with extra goodies like unlimited skips, able to see the entire tracklist before playing, start at any point in the playlist, see how many playlists contain a certain song and even collaborate playlists with other people.

[my-gentle-heart]

this actually is rewiring my brain as we speak

[my-gentle-heart]

I feel like when I say ‘relatable’ what I really mean is ‘resonant.’ I don’t want characters who I feel are like me, I want characters who have emotions so strong I can feel them through the page.

[my-gentle-heart]

I will have you kissed and wallowed before I send you away

And your breath will be left here in the space between my chest and the door

Your eyes will be hazy and your mouth slightly agape

And you will not forgive me.

My fingertips will push you out

Harsher and harsher

I want you out

Go and don’t come back

I want you out.

You will leave and

I will be alone

And the war will have ended.

[my-gentle-heart]

“To me, she was the moon. She was beautiful in every form and I could never get tired of looking at her.”

e.x

[my-gentle-heart]

“Let me live by your side and die in your arms.”

e.x

[my-gentle-heart]

“There are few things I am certain of, my dear. In this life full of lies and deception the only truth I have ever come to find, is that I love you. I love you. And I swear I will never stop loving you; even if we are apart, even if you don’t love me back. And if there is a life after this, I will love you then. In any form, and in every way possible I will be yours. Others might not understand this kind of love. I hardly do so myself. But even hell seems like heaven if only you are there.”

e.x

[my-gentle-heart]

Last night, I told my mother "I wish I was dead" in a fit of rage and winter clouded her eyes. But it wasn't white and it wasn't quiet, it resembled something like helplessness and rage. She was in pain and I knew I hurt her. I wanted to say something, anything, but how do you withdraw a declaration of war? How do you stop the bombs that already destroyed homelands? In that moment I remembered how she always told me that when she was a kid, she was too afraid to sleep with the lights on. Not because she was afraid of monsters, but because she feared her grandmother would die. Because when you're a kid, not seeing it means it doesn't exist anymore. I saw the winter in her eyes again and I knew I had switched off the light, she wasn't angry, she was afraid.

And I also remembered how she always told me I'd always be 3 years old for her, always a child, and for the first time, I heard in the voice of a three year old "I wish I was dead". My heart broke. And I wanted to hug her and hold her, tell her I was sorry, that I didn't mean it. Before I could move a hand, she left the room. The entire evening, I saw myself as she saw me, a 3 year old child. I saw the child hurt herself and cry herself to sleep every week, fight her friends with her tiny hands and two ponytails, I saw her depression and her anxiety, I saw her yell "I wish I was dead" and I knew. I knew. I wanted to shout through the walls, yell and cry and tell my mother that now I KNEW, but I didn't. I wept and wept until I heard a quiet knock and a soft familiar voice whispered, "Dinner is ready".

-Ritika Jyala, excerpt from The world is a sphere of ice and our hands are made of fire

[my-gentle-heart]

Advice for people with anger management issues

From someone who knows what it‘s like

1. People don‘t do things because they are against you.

We tend to get mad when people do or say things that bother us. How could they do this? They must be trying to provoke me, right? Wrong.

The other person will rarely ever do something solely to push your buttons. They are just doing what they feel they want to or have to do at that time. If someone does something for their own joy, they will not let you stop them, just because you don‘t feel the same about it. Would you?

Even if you‘ve told them that something they do bothers you and they try to be considerate as much as they can, people will forget. If your roommate keeps leaving their shoes at the doorway instead of on the shoe rack, they are not doing it with the intention to make you mad. They just forgot. Especially if it‘s something that bothers only you, and nobody else.

If that’s the case they also just probably won‘t try as hard to stop that behaviour. You should try to understand. If someone told you they don‘t like your hair, but everybody else, including yourself, loves it, you wouldn‘t change it just for that person.

2. You don‘t want them to fear you, you want them to respect you.

People who resolve to violence, whether it is verbal or physical violence, will never get the respect they want people to show them.

Think about it. Have you ever seen a situation where a person started yelling like crazy in an argument? Or where they hit someone in response to something they said? What did you think of them? What did other people say about them? They will be the aggressive lunatic. People might get scared, frown upon them, even laugh at them. In the very least they will feel uncomfortable. They will not think of them as someone deserving of a lot of respect.

If you want to stand your ground to someone, do it peacefully. Your calmness will either impress the other party, or irritate them. Anyhow, you will be considered the smarter and bigger person by others.

3. You don‘t want to hurt them.

Especially if it’s someone you care about, you will never really want to cause them bad feelings. Remember that feeling of guilt once your anger has calmed down? You will always regret treating the people you love harshly.

Also, people will not forever put up with your anger. At some point they might have enough and not want you in their lives anymore.

Even if it‘s someone you don‘t particularly care about, think of the people around them. How would you feel if someone yelled at or hit your parent? Your sibling? Don‘t make other people experience things you wouldn’t want to.

4. You are not a lost cause.

Changing habits takes time. Remember, thinking patterns also are habits. Don‘t deem yourself a terrible person, who is destined to be hated by other people.

You will get mad at someone at some point. And you might react aggressively out of habit. But maybe you will think of the things written here once the situation has calmed down. At a later point in time, you will think of them while being aggressive. And after that you will think of them before you get the chance to react in such a way. If it works very well, you might not get as angry about certain things in the first place.

It might take a year or more, but you will live a calmer, more comfortable life, once you‘ve internalized these things.

Feel free to add things, if you think of something helpful :)

[my-gentle-heart]

Isolation from support and reassurance is the essential part of the trauma. I was surprised when I first learned that people who are put thru traumatizing experience, if they immediately get support, comfort, reassurance and love, both during the trauma and afterwards, they mostly don’t develop post traumatic stress disorder, they’re able to process and incorporate it. Basically, a human’s ability to accept and survive trauma largely depends on how supported they are, on having a strong community and knowing things will once again, be okay.

When you’re going thru trauma from young childhood, you’re often on your own and isolated from support. Even if you do have friends, how would you tell them? Just being abused isolates you from society because you can’t relate to non-abused people, you do not live in the same reality. Just imagining a life without a constant threat looming over your head, without measuring your every move in fear of how your abuser would react, is difficult.

And abusers use this, they use it to make you believe that it’s you who is different, weird, at fault for everything you’re going thru. They attack your sanity. Because how would you prove them wrong? You do feel out of place everywhere, because if you were a part of something, surely nobody would allow you to go thru all that suffering alone, surely someone would care about helping you. It becomes incredibly easy to believe that you’re overreacting, making things up, that you’re really just a dead burden on society and have nobody to blame but yourself. After that, it’s easy to gaslight you, to force you to doubt your own memories and senses.

So now, instead of just fighting trauma, you have to fight for your own sanity, and all while knowing that no matter what you say, you will not be believed, you will be dismissed, and at no point will things be okay for you. Even surrounded with people, you cannot ask for help, even revealing what you’re going thru is likely to get people to distance themselves from you, or blame you for it all, rather than offering support. At that point, abusers can do absolutely anything to you, and they will go unpunished. You’re completely at their mercy, and they will have you believe that it’s how things are supposed to be, you are at their disposal for anything they want, and it’s your fault if they hurt and torture you.

I also found out, that isolation alone is a form of torture for humans, not being able to share their experiences and feelings with others, to receive attention and recognition and form intimate bonds, people will start losing hope and their will to live if they’re forced to survive like this. For abused, this is happening at all times, they can’t share, can’t ask for attention, or be intimate without putting themselves in danger. Even if they’re surrounded with people, they don’t feel like they have a status of a human being, it’s like a constant impostor syndrome, fretting the moment people will find out you’re not really one of them.

It’s fairly impossible to describe the pain and trauma of surviving like this, but I just want to acknowledge this much. It is cruelty to emotionally or physically isolate people from support and people they can relate to, even if they’re not traumatized. It’s cruelty to attack their sanity, to gaslight them and make them doubt their own experiences, making it impossible for them to speak out and feel confident in their own reality. And if on top of all this, they’re also undergoing emotional abuse or violence, it’s downright horrifying. No human should be subjected to this. No child, or adult, should be put thru this.