pepsiwriteswords

[pepsiwriteswords]

give your characters exes.

give them a variety of exes. give them relationships that shaped who they are but did not last. give them people they tried very hard to love but it didn't work out. give them situationships that taught them things. give them something deep that was real but could not endure. things that hurt. things that ended amicably. people with whom hot passion cooled to warm affection and became undying friendship.

no more first and only. give me the context of what made them know the next or one after was final and right.

[pepsiwriteswords]

Why I Edit As I Write (Even Though Everyone Says Not To)

hi. it's me. the writer who edits mid-sentence. the writer who literally cannot move on from chapter one until chapter one feels right. the writer who rewrites the same paragraph fourteen times before letting themselves move to the next. yes i've seen every single "just write, fix it later" post. yes, i love the idea of messy first drafts. and no i will not be changing

okay so listen everyone, here's the thing: i DON'T think editing as you go is inherently bad. it's only bad advice when people try to universalize it. writing process is personal. maybe for you it's a fast draft in November and editing in february. maybe for me it's hyper-fixating on every single sentence until the scene flows like water and then moving on with peace in my soul. BOTH ARE VALID. BOTH CAN WORK. both get the book done.

people love to say "don't edit while you draft" because, yeah perfectionism can slow you down. listen, i'm not editing for perfection, im editing for immersion. i need to feel like i'm inside the story or I'LL SPIRAL! if i know the voice is off, pacing is weird, or the character feels flat, i can't pretend i don't see it and continue. i can't push through. my brain physically will NOT LET ME!

when something sounds wrong or looks wrong, it breaks the spell. it kicks me out of the scene like a bad special effects in a movie. no seriously!! and once i'm out it's really hard pt get back in.

also, i'm gonna be real, i hate the feeling of finishing a draft and knowing the entire thing is a flaming wreck i now have to sift through. i HATE that feeling. it makes me never want to open that doc again. i need to be able to re-read my work and go, "okay yeah, this slaps a little." that's how i keep going. a little dopamine hit every few pages. if you call that toxic? i call it necessary.

side notes: there's a weird gatekeeping vibe around speed in the writing world. people act like if you're not cranking out 50k in 30 days, you're "not disciplined." but i'd argue that forcing yourself to write in a way that actively hurts your process isn't discipline. it's sabotage. if editing as i go keeps me working on a project long-term, keeps me engaged, keeps be BELIEVING in it, then it's a valid method

my best scenes? the ones i took slow. the ones i sculpted sentence by sentence. the ones i paused to read out loud, rework, and reimagine until the tension finally clicked. yeah it took hours. yeah it was annoying. but that scene still holds. it still makes me feel something. and that’s worth more to me than blasting through 10k of filler.

edit while you write. reread the last paragraph twelve times. fix that one clunky sentence before you let yourself go on. obsess a little. it’s fine.

rin t.

[pepsiwriteswords]

snippet snaturday

one day early.

Nat pressed his nose into Quinn’s shoulder, then his lips. Through his fuzzy, spinning vision, he thought he saw goosebumps rush over Quinn’s bare arm. His lips parted and he pressed his teeth gently, harmlessly, into Quinn’s shoulder, and left them there for a moment.

“I want to bite you,” he mumbled. “No. I want to kiss you.”

Quinn seemed to be struggling to keep a smile out of their voice. “I’m not going to let you kiss me. You won’t remember any of this tomorrow.”

“Sure I will.”

“Nope. You won’t. Hey, Nat. Look at me.” Quinn lifted their head, and Nat lifted his. He blinked several times, his eyes refusing to focus, but he was sure it was the effort that counted. Quinn said, “If you remember this conversation tomorrow, then I’ll kiss you.”

Nat narrowed his eyes. “Is that a promise?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not?”

“Hm.” Nat placed his chin on Quinn’s shoulder. He was quiet for a few moments, trying to put his thoughts into words. He eventually lost his train of thought completely and lifted a hand to tug on a strand of Quinn’s hair. “Hey. Why do you use so much product in your hair? And so much perfume.”

“Because I like it.”

“No, you smell like chemicals all the time,” Nat said. “I’ve never once smelled what you smell like. Just—just—masks. All the way down.”

“Well, it’s a safety measure,” Quinn said. “You know how many vampires I deal with? I don't want to smell too human.”

“You can trust me. I wouldn't hurt you.”

“You just told me you wanted to bite me.”

“Kiss you. I said kiss you.” Nat twisted the strand of blonde around on his finger. It felt stiff and waxy. “Would be nice if it was longer, too. Then I could braid it like you do mine.”

“You don’t want to braid my hair.”

“I want to. I want to.” Nat shifted on the couch so he could come at Quinn’s head with both hands. “Maybe I’ll try.”

“You’re a very affectionate drunk, aren’t you?”

“You said vampires are supposed to be affectionate,” Nat said. “Hey. Hold still. Stop moving.”

“I’m not moving,” Quinn said. “You’re just dizzy.”

Nat’s brow furrowed. “Oh. You—you hold me still, then.”

Quinn laughed, the sound soft and warm. “You’re not moving either. Again, just dizzy.”

“Well, someone’s moving.”

“Fine,” Quinn said. They leaned to meet him, and wrapped their arms around him. Together they tipped sideways onto the couch. “Now we can both be still for a while.”

[pepsiwriteswords]

What they don't tell you is that to keep writing you have to start writing. I wrote three sentences down for fun yesterday and then i completed the fic. I'm a wordhead now, the inertia is crazy

[pepsiwriteswords]

You gotta write for funsies sometimes. Everything doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. Like. Who cares if it’s a little silly it is made out of love

[pepsiwriteswords]

Hey general tip to new writers (and some published professionals while I'm at it): You don't need to make it explicitly clear that your protagonists are hot.

People who enjoy reading books about hot people will naturally assume that any character mentioned is sexy unless explicitly stated otherwise, and people who don't care about whether the characters are conventionally fuckable or not will not care either way.

Feel free to describe them having features that you find attractive, and have them feel attracted to each other, but don't try to hammer it to the readers that they should find this particular character attractive. Just describe the features that they have, truthfully, and let the readers who are attracted to those features find them attractive.

[pepsiwriteswords]

affirmations for writers: i know how to write. i have seen sentences before, and i know how to make one. i can identify up to several words and their meanings. i am not afraid of semicolons.

[pepsiwriteswords]

How to use Em Dash (—) and Semi Colon ( ; )

Since the ai accusations are still being thrown around, here's how i personally like to use these GASP ai telltales. 🦄✨

Em Dashes (—)

To emphasize a shift / action / thought.

They're accusing us—actually accusing us—of using AI.

To add drama.

They dismissed our skills as AI—didn't even think twice, the dimwits—and believed they were onto something.

To insert a sudden thought. Surely they wouldn't do that to us—would they?

To interrupt someone's speech. "Hey, please don't say that. I honed my craft through years of blood and tears—" "Shut up, prompter."

To interrupt someone's thoughts / insert a sudden event.

We're going to get those kudos. We're going to get those reblogs—

A chronically online Steve commented, “it sounds like ai, idk.”

Semi Colons ( ; )

To join two closely related independent sentences / connect ideas.

Not only ChatGPT is capable of correct punctuation; who do you think it learned from in the first place?

Ultimate pro tip: use them whenever the fuck you want. You don't owe anyone your creative process. 🌈

[pepsiwriteswords]

“how do you write again after a long break?” you just start. that’s the horror of it. you just. start. and then the story opens its eyes.

[pepsiwriteswords]

[pepsiwriteswords]

if you're a writer i wish u a very plot/story/character epiphany

[pepsiwriteswords]

If you love your writing, just think how exciting it would be to be someone that just stumbled across it. Someone with similar interests that's looking for writing the same way you look for things to read and comes across your writing that checks off all the pieces they're looking for.

Your writing is worth writing. Even if you think you're the only person that cares, write it!

You'd be surprised how many people probably fell in love with it and just are too nervous or shy to tell you.

And even if not, you love it. You have fun writing it. You love your characters. They deserve to have their story told.

[pepsiwriteswords]

I haven’t platonicposted in a while

[pepsiwriteswords]

Do you think it's a good idea to try and get away from Google Docs when it comes to writing? I really can't afford any other fancy program to write my drafts in, and it honestly seems like the easiest - not to mention, most convenient - program to use to share my manuscript with beta readers. I could use advice on this matter because I keep seeing things across the net about it being a bad place to work on writing, but I have no idea what to turn to to make things easy for me and my future beta readers.

This is such a good question. Thank you.

So, a little backstory. Ever since Google removed their motto "do no evil" they have gone down the rather predictable path of all big players of the rot economy: putting profits over user experience.

A little while back, there was rumor that Google trains AI with the content of google docs, then they said they don't really, they only scan the content and do nothing with it, and then they started blocking access to documents with sexy images. Do we believe that Google has our own best interest at heart? That's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Back then, I made a post with alternatives for Google Docs, you can find it here, also check the reblogs for more options:

Now, is it a good idea to switch from google docs? I think it is, but I'm also not consistent with it. As you mentioned, it seems to be the easiest to share writing with beta readers, and I also still often use it for fanfiction.

But there are alternatives, and they require very little adjustment in the process. Let me give you two free options.

Ellipsus is webbased, meaning you can write in it in the browser on any device. They have sharing, specifically for beta reading, and an export function for AO3.

Reedsy (marketplace around everything self-publishing) has an editor. It is webbased, and they also have an option for sharing with beta readers. This software is aimed at book type-setting and exporting but it works just fine for copying to web.

Personally, I'm currently switching everything to LibreOffice (also free!) files in some cloud connected folder. I used to do a lot of mobile writing on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard but currently, I'm taking my laptop everywhere so LibreOffice works great for me. If I have to use my phone or tablet for some lightweight mobile writing, on vacation for instance, I can still use something webbased.

So, I hope I gave you some interesting options. Do I think it's a good idea to make us less dependent on Google? Yes, I do. I don't trust them.

We have alternatives, and they cost us nothing more than a little adjustment.

~ barbex

[pepsiwriteswords]

Reblog and put in the tags your favourite character (s) that you’ve created.

[pepsiwriteswords]

I've noticed a lot of people advise writers to read their stories aloud. And I absolutely agree. But I've also mostly seen people mention it in like a 'you'll better notice where there are little mistakes, and where the phrasing is awkward' way. Which, again, is absolutely true.

But that's a 'read the story aloud to see what's wrong with it' advice.

And I think there's maybe an even more important reason to read your fic aloud.

It will show you all the things that are RIGHT about your story.

Because there inevitably comes a point where you've read your own story in your head so many times that all the words are a bland mush that will leave you convinced that there's absolutely nothing interesting or good in your writing.

And if you go back to it many months later, you might realize... oh, this is a pretty interesting fic. And that's because the brain has had time to forget every tiny detail of phrasing you came up with, and you can actually read it like a reader, not the author.

But that road takes months, and until then, you might be inherently convinced that the story is literally the absolute worst thing you've ever written.

But... WHEN YOU READ ALOUD, you automatically start giving the words inflection, inflection that, when you're reading something that you haven't written yourself, you kind of hear even when reading quietly. But for your own story, all that inflection and weight has been sucked out by way too many rereads while you were looking for grammatical errors. The fastest way to be able to see it again? To hear it.

Anyway, read aloud to defeat the monster on your shoulder telling you your writing sucks.

[pepsiwriteswords]

"just write a little every day" ok but what if i write nothing for 3 weeks and then suddenly type like i’m being hunted by god