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How to write a kiss scene

requested by: anon request: How do I write a good kiss scene? As how do I describe it? What details or words would make it good?

What goes into the writing of a kiss scene?

details to incorporate:

the sensations in their stomach, their chest, and their knees

the way their breathing changes shortly before the kiss

the feeling of the other's hands

the texture of the other's clothing

the moment they realise they've reached the point of no return

the feeling they're left with after the kiss

words to use...

... to describe the kiss:

tentative

tender

hesitant

quick

soft

gentle

delicate

languid

feathery

familiar

exploring

hungry

heated

fiery

frantic

impatient

sloppy

messy

aggressive

... to describe how they feel about the kiss:

nervous

excited

giddy

anxious

apprehensive

ambiguous

surprised

reassured

certain

confident

relieved

eager

greedy

... to show what the lips do:

exploring each other

brushing over each other

locking

devouring

touching

sealing

pressing against each other

capturing

lapping

tasting

crushing together

travelling (the other's body)

trailing (down to the other's chin)

grinning into the kiss

caressing

lingering

... to show how their body reacts:

feeling warm all over

buzzing

humming

pumping/palpitating heart

clenching lungs

joy bubbling up

tingly stomach

warm chest

burning cheeks

sweaty palms

blood rushing through their veins

... to describe what their hands are doing:

tangling in their lover's hair

wrapping their arms around their lover's neck

intertwining their fingers with their lover

resting on their lover's hips

pressing into their lover's shoulder blades

cupping their lover's cheeks

touching their lover's chin

curling their arm around their lover's waist

resting on their lover's shoulders

grabbing their lover's collar

sneaking up under their lover's shirt

brushing over their lover's bare skin

lightly squeezing their lover's butt

focus on:

the sensations instead of what's physically happening. (the protagonists might very well not know themselves what is happening exactly, but they feel very precisely)

I hope this helps <3

[some-writing-things]

Romance Masterpost

How to write it

How to write romance

Love Language - Showing, not telling love

Honeymoon

Slow burn

Forbidden Romance (+ prompts)

Reasons for a break-up while still loving each other

How to create quick chemistry

How to write enemies to lovers (+ prompts)

How to write lovers to enemies to lovers

Arranged matrimony for royalty (+ prompts)

Date gone wrong

Academic rivals to lovers

Romantic Fall Date Ideas

How to write a polyamorous relationship

Prompt Lists

Romance Part I

Romance Part II

Bad ones, unrequited, break-up Part I

Bad ones, unrequited, break-up Part II

Two smart and also stupid people in love

Push and pull romantic prompts

Co-workers - Hate to love

Lovers to enemies

Jealousy + Things said during sex prompts

Moving in together

[some-writing-things]

Writing Websites

1. a website with a list of superpowers and what they are

2. a website that generates random au ideas

3. a website that generates names, basic info and futures in a bunch of languages

4. a website that checks your grammar

5. website that lists types of execution in the states

6. a website with info on death certificates

7. a website with info on the four manners of death

8. a website with info on the black plague

9. website with information on depression

10. a website with info on the four types of suicide

11. website that lists famous quotes

12. website with different kinds of quotes

13. a website with info on food in every country

14. a website with a list of different colors

15. website with a list of medieval jobs

16. website with a list of fabrics

17. website with a list of flowers and pictures

18. website with a list of flowers and no pictures

19. website with a list of poisonous plants

20. website with a list of poisonous and non-poisonous plants

21. website with a list of things not to feed your animals

22. website with a list of poisons that can be used to kill people

23. website with info on the international date line

24. website with a list of food allergies

25. website with a list of climates

26. website with info on allergic reactions

27. website with info on fahrenheit and celsius 

28. website with info on color blindness

29. website with a list of medical equipment

30. website with a list of bugs

31. website with an alphabetic list of bugs and their scientific name

32. website with a list of eye colors

33. website (wikipedia sorry) with list of drinks

34. website with a list of religions

35. website with a list of different types of doctors and what they do

36. website (wikipedia again sorry) with a list of hair colors

37. website that generates fantasy names

38. website with a list of body language

39. website with a list of disabilities

40. website with an alphabetic list of disabilities

[some-writing-things]

Naming Chapters

I personally think naming chapters beyond the standard “1”/ “I”/“One” is an art we lose after middle school chapter books. And while I do think the minimal numbering fits certain books, I also think detailed chapter names fit others. So how do you name a chapter (and how do you know if it fits your story)?

1. Chapter names can be much longer and break the more strict nature of book titles

Chapter names can be a single word all the way up to a full sentence while still being manageable. They also don’t have to be as catchy or marketable as a book title. This means you have tons more freedom in the name. Which is really fun. 

2. How to Name a Chapter

What kind of tone the chapter title evokes is important. It doesn’t have to match the overall tone, but it should mirror the one within the chapter. Just like the book title, you’re telling your readers what to expect. Here are some ways to find a chapter name (P.S. All the examples are made up):

Within the text

Ex. The sentence  “The morning was awash with simple pleasures.” can turn into the title “Awash with Simple Pleasures”

Name of a side character who gets their moment in the chapter

Ex. “About Emily”

A question the reader and/or MC may have about their circumstances

Ex. “What Do You Do When the World Ends?”

A chapter’s motif 

Ex. If the chapter revolves around a character getting the MC a pearl necklace, the title could be “Pearls”, “A Girl’s Best Friend”, etc.

An allusion

This could really be anything. Some of the most common allusions refer to Shakespeare, mythology, old songs, famous poems, and classic literary works. Of course, you could make an allusion to something niche (or otherwise unknown) that relates directly to the story.

Ex. “Et tu, Brute?” (referring to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar) could a title after the reveal of a betrayal

An utterance

Anything your MC would think or say, given the opportunity to break the 4th wall, bridges the gap between character and reader a little. It’s not something they’ve said to anyone in the story. And it has an air of self-awareness.

Ex. “So This is Where We Are Now”, “This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen”

Foreshadowing

Use this sparingly and carefully, but you can plant clues and things similar in nature in the title

Ex. The chapter ends with the abrupt murder of a character using a coffee pot that was previously inconspicuous. The tile is “Coffee Pot”.

3. The “Other” Kind of Chapter (AKA The Part)

There are two main ways to split up a novel. The chapter and the part. Chapters are usually a given and can work concurrently with the story also being split into parts. If you read The Hunger Games, among many others, you’ve seen this in practice.

The parts of a novel are usually in 3s. This can (indirectly or inexplicitly) mark beginning/middle/end or childhood/adulthood/elderhood. Or it can mark more story-specific events, like The Hunger Games and its sequels. You mostly see this in sci-fi/fantasy novels, but they can go anywhere. 

The titles of these parts are usually short and correlate with each other (similarly to how book titles in series can correlate). 

Ex. “The Dawn”, “The Day”, “The Dusk”

Ex.  “Spark”, “Flame”, “Wildfire”

Ex. “The Test”, “The Proof”, “The Job” 

Ex. “4″, “16″, “25″

Where you place these divisions is up to you. It works best if it feels natural and fits in well with the pacing. You can plot your story around these parts, or add them in later. Either way, whether they work or not is going to be subjective and you might need beta readers/a critique partner to help you out. 

4. So, is it right for my story?

That’s totally up to you and all I can really give you for an answer is my opinion. I think chapter titles are a given for stories with a comedic tone. There’s an easy sense of irreverence or goofiness that comes with it when used right.

Other stories can be tricky, though. I think unless your story is super serious (like a thriller), you can effectively use chapter titling. With serious stories, it might be a bit more tricky to maintain the stricter tone with title, but it’s accomplishable.

And of course, you don’t have to add titling. Sometimes the minimalistic nature of  “One”/”I”/”1” fits a story better than any other title could.

If you feel so inclined to title your chapters, it can add a whole new layer of mechanics to better tell and represent your story that you can experiment with. And if you don’t feel inclined, don’t worry about it! It’s a personal choice, not something you’re missing out on. And isn’t that what your writing is? Your own style based on what you do and don’t add?

[some-writing-things]

WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF: BEAUTIFUL

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “beautiful” to describe things/people/etc in your writing? Try using these words instead:

stunning

gorgeous

breathtaking

mesmerizing

lovely

beauteous

cute

alluring

charming

dashing

pretty

majestic

ravishing

dazzling

striking

adorable

enticing

captivating

dreamy

astonishing

[some-writing-things]

What you can say instead of the word beautiful:

lovely, 

charming, 

delightful, 

appealing, 

engaging, 

winsome

ravishing, 

gorgeous, 

heavenly, 

stunning, 

arresting, 

glamorous,

 irresistible, 

bewitching, 

beguiling

graceful, 

elegant,

 exquisite, 

aesthetic, 

artistic, 

decorative, 

magnificent

[some-writing-things]

the suffering never ends

[some-writing-things]

Writing Body Language

How to Improve your writing

This is something that happens every day in your life. A shift of your eyebrow in skepticism, or the way your lip may twitch to a half smile cause you’re trying not to laugh. These behaviors are vital for writing in character, because not only do the allow you to visually see what is happening but it is also reaffirming whatever emotion your character is showing.

So why should you write it?

Much of human communication is non-verbal which means you need to also translate this non-verbal reaction in a post. It allows you to greatly enhance the emotions of another character and always another person to ‘visually’ see how they feel in a post. Most of all, this will add depth and volume to your post to make it feel more real. IT will make your character feel like a human instead of just another fictional person you look at from above.

Below you will find a list different type of emotions and what sort of body language can be exhibited to them.

Three ways to accent an action.

When writing about emotions, there are different ways to verbally write them out. Each one is unique in their own way, allowing you to show more about the emotion.

Emphasize the Emotion. But doing this, you are expressing both the emotion and the body language. We’ll use a simple example. It’s short and simple yet you can sense he is happy. John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall.

Complicate the Emotion. Sometimes, even when you are feeling one emotion, deep down rooted underneath the facade of it all, there is actually an underlining emotion they feel. This is something you have to truly express otherwise no one will know. John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. However, it was obvious by the way his nose crinkled that he was disgusted by the actions beforehand. Instead, John covered it up by appearing pleased today.

Contradict the Emotion. This is a little different than complicate. Contradicting means that you are claiming one thing when in fact its the other. In many ways, this has a variety of uses, from inner depth of the truth to what you see in person, or someone creating a wall. It could be considered a lie, but when is anything that easy? John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. In truth, once he was in the classroom, his shoulders slumped and a pout crossed his lips when no one was around, showing just how displeased he was with the situation.

Remember that you do not always have to contradict or complicate anything. Sometimes all you need to do is emphasize and that will be just fine. You don’t always have to have an underlining complicated for an emotion to make it more enhanced.

Do be afraid to use the Thesaurus to also improve an emotion. Such things as “happy” is a nice emotional word, but think of how much more powerful it is when you heard some is “overjoyed” or “content.” She how these emotions matched up with a body language can give two different styles of happiness? Mix and match to find what works best for your character at the time.

More In Depth Information

What I’ve stated above is more of a simplistic overview. IF you truly want to improve yourself, go to this

LINK HERE

To see just how much body language can reveal about a person. You will find things such as how a person lies, how the eyes reaction, the positioning of a person in personal space, mouth, and head body language and so much more.

Use these resources to greatly increase the reactions of your character to another and create a more life-like world.

[some-writing-things]

I found a fantasy language generator online and now have several fantasy languages in the works for my one (1) wip

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[some-writing-things]

Literally THE most useful thing you can learn as a writer is how to pitch a story

A good pitch can turn strangers into readers—who might then become fans

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Further Notes on Writing Signed Language

So I had a good think about this, based off of what I have written lately. As I go further into my novel, do even more research into different types of sign, and start on the arc that is written solely from the POV of my deaf character, I’ve begun to realize some other differences between signed and spoken dialogue.

For one thing, punctuation doesn’t apply in the same way. There is punctuation in sign language, but as I’ve talked about before, it is mostly facial; therefore, you describe it as a part of the dialogue tags. So then, what do about the commas, colons and semi-colons? In this case, the n-dash is your friend! The aforementioned punctuation marks indicate changes in tone, alterations of pace and pauses. Therefore, they can be replaced with an  n-dash, like so

“You and I – I don’t think we can continue.”

And fingerspelled words would be written as single letters, hyphenated into a word:

”You and I - going to L-O-N-D-O-N.”

For another, the syntax of your translated signed dialogue is subtly different. One sign can ususally mean several different words and filler words are absent. If someone were to say “really big.” in sign, they might just make the sign for “big” and super over-exaggerate.

So, verbal dialogue version:

“It was really, really big!” Lottie jumped and down in excitement, her eyes shining. 

And the signed dialogue version:

“The dog was huge!” Lottie flung out her hands into the word, making it larger than it needed to be, bouncing on her heels.

Keeping in mind that large, big, huge, bountiful (and other connected synonyms) are all the same sign.

I don’t like to write signed language in the syntax that it would be signed in (Name, yours, what instead of “what is your name”). Not only is this confusing for non-signing readers, but it also reads as childish or overly-simplistic for readers who don’t understand sign, which reinforces the harmful stereotype of deaf people being stupid/infantilisation of deaf people. It is impossible to truly do signed language justice in writing, because it’s a language made for hands, bodies and faces.

This all comes together to mean that the sentence structure of dialogue in sign will be different. You would use less contractions (isn’t, you’re, might’ve etc), fewer modifiers and shorter chunks of dialogue with the description of the sign in between.

If it reads differently or feels strange, that’s okay: signed language is different to verbal language and so they won’t sound the same as one another in writing. They’re more like cousins or step-siblings than part of the same direct family group. You’re utilizing different descriptors and tools.

Hopefully, this also answers the repeated issue of differentiation, which has come up time and time again from various people. Best of luck to you all with your writing x

[some-writing-things]

Writing A Fictional Town | Tips & Tricks

When we talk about world building, we usually think scifi or fantasy where we have to create languages and build magic systems that somehow explain away why gravity is upside down or why the walls chant an ancient language that you can only decipher at the witching hour. But what if you just want to create a bizarre little town to set the scene for your story? I did it for Truth Weekend!

So here are 3 Steps to creating your own town.

Step 1: Nail Down An Appropriate Name!

Are you an author aiming for premium chaos like “Riverdale” or a deceitfully happy name like “Sunnybrook” when really there’s sinister activity below the surface? Maybe that has something to do with the hero or villain that got to name the town.

For example, there’s this neighborhood in sunny sleepy Florida called Champaign Lane that consists of middle middle/ lower middle income young people who just got out of college and are buying their first homes. Though it is in a sketchy part of town, all the little houses are a gorgeous pale pink or turquoise with white roofs and immaculate yards, so while I find the name to be ironic, I also view it as a goal. The residents are hungry and ambitious youth, hustling to make their dreams come true so that they can get to the place in life where they’re popping champagne. This also poses an allegory for living behind a passible facade of having lots of money and happiness when really we don’t. The hidden juxtaposition adds an extra layer to your setting and you didn’t even have to do that much.

Step two: what are all the secrets and sins of the town?

What are the legends of the lake? What streets are for daylight only? Who is the woman in the window you’re told stay away from?

Recently I was reading an idealistic romance set in a fake town in California with a scene in a grocery store where a character looks at a missing child flyer and says “It’s a shame this family can’t catch a break. Her sister literally drowned in Lake Eerie three months ago.” A small moment like that adds so much texture and validity to the scene and suddenly the thing on the page is alive again.

So if you’re looking for a nifty little writing exercise then I’d say write up three myths or legends about the places and people of your town. Bonus points if there’s story about the crooked family on the tallest hill.

Step 3: Define the details of what makes your town so special.

What are the oddities and marvels of this place that are so distinct that you couldn’t set it in a real town or a real neighborhood? I like to separate this stage of planning into three parts: color, aesthetic, & monuments.

For me, a fun way to get the wheels turning when world building is to create a color pallet. In the opening of Truth Weekend, the colors in Skye’s world are quite muted and grungy, but when we meet Rosie there’s a lot of plums, burgundies, wine red, and amber.

As they enter this new world together, the colors change again and there’s a vibrancy to it. It’s not just blue, its cobalt and if its red, its neon. It’s like the saturation is cranked all the way to 100 to reflect the emotional intensity and how uncomfortable, but cathartic this situation is and as their relationship changes the we then get into the lavenders, the magentas, and the concept of yellow which poses a fitting dichotomy in its meaning of rebirth and cowardice. Use color theory to you advantage! The symbolism writes itself.

Next, the Aesthetic

This lets you hone in on your unique style, your voice, your vision while having a touch stone to come back to.

Are we going for a Florida gothic, where we have an orange field on one side of the road and on the other side we have a marble cherub in front of a waffle house? I once saw a motel sign where the tagline read: stay for a while… stay forever. This creep-fest feeds into that well-meaning but unhinged Midwestern gothic of cornfields, dirt roads, and rumors of three eyed blood deer.

Look up some photos and make a list. Here’s an example of if I wanted to write a fun quirktastic town: sunny side up wall paper, the Oasis motel, conspiracy theory diner, rainbow slushies, cannabis cookie shop, a yellow house shaped like a boot, an iguana eating hydrangeas in sunflower fields, crop circle picnics, and a bookstore built for an acid trip.

Don’t be afraid to include wild life, nature, and peculiar architecture within this list, but if your creative genius mind doesn’t jive with aesthetics we still have monuments, which is the best part of this whole thing.

Monuments: What are the key locations that are only in this town?

What are the hot spots of the town? Where do the old people hang out? Is the town covered in graffiti or is it very buttoned up? Maybe it is abnormally homogenous. Is there a mansion next to a trailer park or a prison next to a school?

To get you mind cooking, create 10 unique locations. Why ten? Because it’s a good number, but you can always expand it. Create 10 locations and watch your dream town that is so full of character and foreshadowing unfold in front of you.

Alright guys that’s all that I have for you today. I hope it this got the creative juices rolling. Comment down below and let me know any more hyper-specific topics you want me to hit on. Happy writing!

[some-writing-things]

Adding Horror Elements to Your Writing

Truly terrifying your readers takes skill. Not only do you have to focus on getting the pacing absolutely right, you also need to understand what makes something scary. When you’re writing, you can’t rely on cheap thrills like in most horror films.

Here are a few tips on adding horror to your story:

Let us know the stakes

We need to know what’s at risk for your character if you want to scare us. We need to know the immediate consequences for your character. We don’t want to be guessing what your character is afraid of happening. Let us know what will happen if they fail.

Develop your characters

No one will care about your horror novel OR any of your novels if you don’t develop your characters. This is often a mistake with beginning horror writers (and well-established ones)—they don’t make us care about their characters. We need to know who they are first before we care about what they might lose.

Write with emotion

Horror truly requires writing with emotion. As a writer, you need to be able to put yourself in the place of your character. You need to be able to describe their fear because that will make your writing more terrifying for your readers. They need to feel what your character is feeling emotionally.

Use all your senses

Focus on using all your senses when writing horror. Smells, sounds, and tastes will all add to the creepiness of your novel. Saying something smells like rotting flesh really adds to your story. Explaining that footsteps sound like heartbeats will build tension. Always consider everything that’s happening in the room and use it to improve your novel.

Have your character make mistakes

Sometimes fear in horror novels comes from characters doing something we know they shouldn’t. What if they accidently killed someone and tried to hide it? What if they got up in the middle of the night to investigate a noise? Build the tension by letting your characters make poor choices.  

Give your readers hope

If your readers have no faith in your character from the beginning, your novel won’t be very exciting. Simply putting a character through awful situations does not make a good horror story. We need to believe they can survive. That’s what keeps us reading.

Create new monsters

Don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas. Turn a vampire into something else by reconstructing our ideas of what a vampire should be. Create a new monster entirely. If there’s something from a nightmare that frightened you, develop it.

Don’t tell us when to be scared

This is when show, don’t tell really comes in handy. You can’t tell your readers, “Amy was really scared.” You need to show us why she’s scared. Simply stating that a character is frightened does nothing to scare your readers. Show us what’s happening and we will know why your character is terrified.

-Kris Noel

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Tips for white artists/writers on PoC characters:

DON’T

•Dehumanize poc characters. This includes giving only your poc characters monstrous features (animal ears, tails, fangs)

•Don’t make your white girl oc’s soft and cute or fun while your brown/black girl oc’s are Muscular and Strong with Don’t Need No Man and strict attitudes, let brown and black girls be soft and cute and fun, too

•Make the only poc characters as villains, victims, refugees, especially the tan and dark-skinned poc—let poc be heroes, too

•Write your Muslim (and any brown) character in an arranged marriage or being forced into anything in general (ie, hijab)

•Give your East-Asian oc’s yellow skin, even if it’s light enough to almost look ‘natural’—it doesn’t, and no one has that skin tone

•Make your only East-Asian character(s) meek, submissive, quiet, brooding

•Describe poc skin tone with food (ie, chocolate skin)

•Make only your poc characters the edgy, temperamental, brooding or jealous characters while your white oc’s get to be colorful and bright and strong and fun

•Have your white oc’s always better off than the poc characters (whether it’s money, status, beauty, power, etc)

•Kill all your poc characters off or torture them repeatedly while the white characters get everything they want

•Fetishize your poc characters (ie, how the brown girls in Disney films are all sexualized vs the soft innocence of white Disney princesses, how Native Americans are often sexualized, etc)

•This includes the sexy “Exotic” trope

•Write about an experience or identity that isn’t yours to write about—IE, you shouldn’t be writing from the perspective of a Muslim Arab-American girl facing racism and islamophobia in a small, white town. Write about another white character witnessing the events instead. (ie, secret life of bees)

And lastly…

•Don’t be afraid to ask.

DO

•Your research

•Include poc in a respectful manner (no it’s not that complicated)

•Be mindful of harmful tropes (angry Black woman, Muslim women being oppressed, etc)

•Let brown and black girls be love interests

•Romanticize (not sexualize) poc features (black and brown eyes, monolids, tan and dark skin tones, different nose shapes)

•Let girls have darker skin tones than their male love interest

•Let poc be disabled or have other identities—no it isn’t ‘too much’ to have a deaf, black, non-binary Muslim character

•Be mindful of internalized racism. The best way to avoid this is to…

•Ask poc about your non-white oc’s; if you think you’ve got a good handle on things, it’s likely you don’t. Don’t get mad if/when poc correct you. If you don’t know any poc, that already sounds like a problem and you should reach out to some people and go to @writingwithcolor’s blog, and do some of your own research as well

•Include interracial couples (yes it’s okay to have a poc in a relationship with a white person)

•Let brown/black men be soft and weak and romantic and kind

•Include tan and dark-skinned poc

And lastly…

•Write them as a person.

Feel free to add more! This was just off the top of my head

[some-writing-things]

How to Love your Writing Anyway

Hi. So if you write, you’ve probably written some things that some would call ‘not good’. By probably, I mean definitely, because, you know. That’s life. Writing isn’t always good, and that’s ok! Whether it’s in drafts, you’re just getting started, or a particular story isn’t really working the way you want, all writers have these moments. But here’s the catch-you don’t have to hate it, or be upset about it, or get mad at yourself for it. Here’s how to love your writing, no matter how well you think it’s turned out. 

Step One: Separate Yourself From Your Art

I’ve talked about this about a million times, and I’ll talk about it a million more at least. You are not your art. When you think of your art as ‘bad’ or when someone else says your art is ‘bad’, it does not make you bad. You are not your art. This is super important to being able to have an objective view of your work, so you can properly critique it and receive criticism. 

If you notice that you feel critiques about your work deep in your own gut, take a step back. Practice thinking ‘this is not an insult to me. I am not my art’. That’s your new mantra. 

Step Two: Mistakes are not a Bad Thing

Ok, so we have to stop thinking about making mistakes as a bad thing. They’re not. They’re objectively neutral. I know it’s disappointing when you discover a  giant plot hole that means you need to completely rewrite a story in the third draft (when I say I know, I really know), but this isn’t a bad thing. It’s not a good thing either, don’t get me wrong, but we have to recognize it as just…a thing. You didn’t do anything wrong. Your morality isn’t at stake. Typos, passive voice, dialogue tags not properly formatted, these are neutral things that exist until you fix them. That’s all. 

Step Three: Abandon Perfectionism 

“Oh, sure, Kay, great advice. I’ll just stop being a perfectionist, easy.” Listen, I hear you. This could be an entire book on its own, let alone a tiny paragraph on a writing post, but here we are. Purging yourself of perfectionism is a difficult, lifelong task, but the only way to ease up on any of your perfectionism at all is to try. 

Practice making ‘terrible versions’ of scenes you’re having trouble with, or lists of ways you know it won’t happen. Lower your standards and expectations of yourself in your drafts. Define how ‘rough’ your rough drafts are allowed to be. When you see a mistake, smile. Like, physically smile. Which actually takes us to our next step…

Step Four: Learn to Laugh at Yourself

You know ‘fake it till you feel it’? That’s how you do this. Being about to look at a mistake and smile or laugh makes the writing process so much more enjoyable. At first, you won’t feel like it, but move those muscles anyway. Tell a writing buddy, hey, look at this ridiculous typo I made. Post it on Tumblr. Celebrate your mistakes! Your a human, everyone already knows you make them, why not revel in it? Own them, so they can’t own you. 

Step Five: Appreciate how Far You’ve Come

You know what will always be there to cheer you up, even in your darkest, self-loathing moments when you feel like you can’t even look at your work? Recognizing your progress. It’s great to read old stories, laugh at the passive voice and weak character choices, and know, ‘Wow. I really have gotten better.’ It’s easy to let yourself drown in all the mistakes your making now. Remind yourself of the mistakes you’re no longer making. You are constantly improving, no matter how much it sometimes feels otherwise. Take some time to appreciate yourself. 

I hope these help you find more joy in your writing. No matter how good you get at all of these, there will still be moments of self-doubt or loathing. We’re human! Don’t be afraid to reach out to a writing buddy, a friend, Tumblr as a whole, or to me! 

[some-writing-things]

This is a fabulous flowchart!