#Writeblr community

[melloncolliegalaxies]

[kookntae4ever]

This is me. Kinda jealous of all the writers who can write quickly because I can't.

[ettawritesnstudies]

READERS: FYI BOOKSHOP.ORG HAS FREE SHIPPING FOR ANTI-PRIME DAYS

This is a cool platform that gives back to local and small businesses so I'm affiliated with them. If you want to use my link to buy anything I'll get a small cut which is appreciated, but regardless this is still a neat opportunity to dodge Amazon's monopoly especially if you don't have prime.

[angelasscribbles]

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

✨ HOW TO ACTUALLY START A BOOK

(no ✨vibes✨, just structure, stakes, and first-sentence sweat)

hello writer friends 💌 so you opened a doc. you sat down. you cracked your knuckles. maybe you even made a playlist or moodboard. and then… you stared at the blinking cursor like it personally insulted your entire bloodline.

here’s your intervention. this post is for when you want to write chapter one, but all you have is aesthetic, maybe a plot bunny, maybe a world idea, maybe nothing at all. here’s how to actually start a book, from structure to sentence one.

—

🌶️ STEP 1: THE SPICE BASE ~ “WHAT’S CHANGING?”

start with this question:

what changes in the protagonist’s life in the first 5–10 pages?

doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. they could get a letter, lose a job, run late, break a rule, wake up hungover in the wrong house. what matters is disruption. the opening of your book should mark a shift. if their day starts normal, it shouldn’t end that way.

🏁 opening chapters are about motion. forward movement. tension. momentum. if nothing is changing, your story isn’t starting, you’re just doing a prequel.

—

⚙️ STEP 2: THE CRUNCHY BITS - CHOOSE AN ENTRY POINT

there are 3 classic places to start a novel. each one works if you’re intentional:

The Day Everything Changes most popular. you drop us in right before or during the inciting incident. clean, fast, efficient.

pro: immediate stakes con: harder to sneak in worldbuilding or character grounding

The Calm Before the Storm starts slightly earlier. show the character’s “normal” life, then break it. useful if the change won’t make sense without context.

pro: space to introduce your character’s routine/flaws con: risky if it drags or feels like setup

The Aftermath drop us in after the big event and fill in gaps as we go. works well for thrillers, mysteries, or emotionally heavy plots.

pro: instant drama con: requires precision to avoid confusion

📝 pick one. commit. don’t blend them or you’ll write three intros at once and cry.

—

🧠 STEP 3: CHARACTER FIRST, ALWAYS

readers don’t care about your setting, your magic system, or your cool mafia politics unless they’re anchored in someone.

in the first scene, we need to know:

what this person wants

what’s bothering them (externally or internally)

one trait they lead with (bold, anxious, calculating, naive, etc.)

that’s it. just one want, one tension, one vibe. no bios. no monologues. no “they weren’t like other girls” essays. put them in a situation and show how they act.

—

⛓️ STEP 4: OPEN WITH FRICTION

first scenes should create questions, not answer them.

there should be tension between:

what the character wants vs. what they’re getting

what’s happening vs. what they expected

what’s being said vs. what’s being felt

you don’t need a gunshot or a car crash (unless you want one). you need conflict. tension = momentum = readers keep reading.

—

✏️ STEP 5: WRITE THE FIRST SENTENCE - THEN IGNORE IT

okay. now you write it.

no pressure. you’re not tattooing it on your soul. this isn’t the final line on the final page. you just need something.

tricks that work:

start in the middle of an action

start with a contradiction

start with something unexpected, funny, or sharp

start with a small lie or a weird detail

💬 examples:

“The body was exactly where she’d left it - rude.” “He was already two hours late to his own kidnapping.” “There was blood on the welcome mat. Again.” “They said don’t open the door. She opened it anyway.”

once you’ve got it? keep going. don’t revise yet. don’t edit. just build momentum.

you can come back and make it ✨iconic✨ later.

—

📦 BONUS: WHAT NOT TO DO IN YOUR OPENING

don’t start with a dream

don’t info-dump lore in paragraph one

don’t give me three pages of your OC making toast

don’t try to sound like a Victorian cryptid unless it’s on purpose

don’t introduce 7 named characters in one scene

don’t start with a quote unless you are 800% sure it slaps

be weird. be sharp. be specific. aim for interest, not perfection.

—

🏁 TL;DR (but make it ✨useful✨)

something in your MC’s life should change immediately

pick a structural entry point and stick to it

give us a person, not a setting

friction = good

first lines are disposable, just make them interesting

and if you needed a sign to just start the damn book, this is it.

💌 love, -rin t.

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[transman-badass]

Here's to the people who can't get the words on the page. The people who are too tired after all life throws at them to write. The people who are blocked. The people who are burnt out. The people who can't write because of physical or mental illnesses. The people who don't know why they can't write. And the people struggling with all those other things that get in the way of writing and make it seem or be impossible.

You're still a writer, you're still an artist. And you matter. This world is better since you're in it. Thank you for wanting to write, even if you can't right now. I hope you and your words find each other soon.

[the-golden-comet]

Please stick to ONE TASK, brain!!

🧠: No. :)

[willowiswriting]

[phoenixofthegreenwood]

Me: I love writing, it’s so fun and creatively stimulating!

Also Me while I’m writing:

[heywriters]

Rescued Writing Links!

When cleaning out the HEY, Writers! Pinterest I moved some links here. The internet has changed a LOT since I started collecting these, so some links may include outdated info. All were still active when I made this, but it's been in my drafts for a hot minute.

Protip! In Firefox, check to toggle reader view when reading these (mobile: the page icon in the url bar; desktop: same icon or hit F9). This removes popups, ads, screen clutter, and often has an audio option.

Survivors of Internet Decay Award!

These active sites featured most often in my collections so they get the top of the list.

Helping Writers Become Authors

Mythcreants

Bryn Donovan

Getting Started (Ideas & Intros)

How to Start Writing a Book: Learn One Writer’s Process | Marian Schembari

How to Start a Story: 30 Opening Scene Examples | Bryn Donovan

Don’t Panic! What to Do When You Have Too Many Story Ideas | Faye Kirwin

How to Write a Killer First Chapter | Rae Elliot

How To Write A Captivating Opening Sentence

Outlining

How to Create a Flexible Outline for Your Novel | Faye Kirwin

Protagonists

How to Write Believable Characters | Bridget McNulty

4 Ways to Write a Likable Protag at the Start of the Character Arc | KM Weiland

5 Tips for Writing a Likable "Righteous" Character | KM Weiland

I Hate Your Protagonist! Want to Know Why? | KM Weiland

The Secret to Writing Dynamic Characters: It's Always Their Fault | KM Weiland

A Protagonist’s Moment of Realisation

Antagonists

Blurring the Lines: What Are Anti-Heroes and Anti-Villains?

Antagonists: Inner & Outer Demons | Kristen Lamb

How to Write Multiple Antagonists | KM Weiland

Character Building

The Epic Guide to Character Creation, Part 1 | Kylie Day

Pick Up A Bad Habit | Maggie Maxwell

How To Write Characters from the Opposite Gender | Rachel Poli

Top 4 Tips for Using Backstory in Your Novel | Diana Anderson-Tyler

Depicting Background Characters | Chris Winkle

Scene Building

The 5 Elements Of A Good Scene | Amanda Patterson

A New Way to Think About Scene Structure | KM Weiland

2 Ways to Make the Most of Your Story’s Climactic Setting | KM Weiland

8 Things Writers Forget When Writing Fight Scenes | Lisa Voisin

Descriptions

Master List of Facial Expressions | Bryn Donovan

Master List of Words to Describe Voices | Bryn Donovan

Master List of Physical Description for Writers | Bryn Donovan

Writer’s Guide to Serious Injuries and Calamities | Bryn Donovan

How to Ground Your Reader (in the setting) | Rachel Craft

The Forgotten Fifth Sense | Writer's Relief

Never Name an Emotion in Your Story | KM Weiland

Show, Don't Tell: How to Write the Stages of Grief | Ruthanne Reid

100 Words for Facial Expressions

Dialogue

How To Write Good Dialogue: Ten Tips | Irving Weinman

Seven Dialogue Don’ts | Jason Bougger

10 Keys to Writing Dialogue in Fiction | Katherine Cowley

Points-Of-View (POV)

What Every Writer Ought to Know About the Omniscient POV | KM Weiland

Motivation & Support

What New Writers Need To Know About Fear | Bryan Collins

How to Discover Your Writing Process with Gabriela Pereira | Kirsten Oliphant

Editing & Revising

18 Overused Words to Replace When Writing | Oxford Tutoring

An Easy Way to Immediately Improve Your Character’s Action Beats | KM Weiland

Want More Depth to Your Writing? | Sacha Black

How Much is Too Much Backstory? | Ellen Brock

Why Your Writing Sounds Weird (And What You Can Do About It) | Joe Brock

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers | Jenny Bravo

Favorite Revision and Editing Tricks

Short Stories & Flashfic

How to Write a Story a Week: A Day-by-Day Guide | Emily Wenstrom

How Flash Fiction / Microfiction Can Help With Your Writing | Rhianne Williams

Worksheets & Downloads

Writing Worksheet Archive

If anyone out there loves making lists and wants to transport this to another site, you have every right to do so! Just let me know in a reblog so I can share it here again :)

---

HEY! Writers' Links

Tip Jar! If you enjoy my blog and advice, support me on Ko-fi!🤗

Follow me on AO3 for fanfiction

Visit my Pinterest & Unsplash for visual inspiration

[k--havok]

Writing smut is fine.

Reading smut is fine.

Enjoying smut is fine.

Writing or seeking out books that contain smut does not make you bad. It does not mean you are stupid or "porn brained" or whatever other bullshit people like to say nowadays.

Smut is morally neutral. Enjoying smut does not make you a bad person. It does not make what you write or what you read "worse."

Smut is mortally neutral.

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Cults and Cult Leaders

Cults are a terrifying concept. The idea of a group of people under the control of a singular figure or belief that is isolated from what one knows or understands is unsettling. Cults are interesting because at their heart, they are complex dynamics which highlight some of the most unsavoury parts of human nature and the damage imposed from the imposition of certain lifestyles and beliefs upon a group of, sometimes, vulnerable people.

If it Quacks like a Cult, it probably is a Cult

A cult is a group of people who share a certain belief in how they must live their lives. Cults are usually closed communities, very often separating themselves from the mainstream society in order to protect their way of life and live in the bubble of their beliefs. Cults control, usually everything from what you might eat to who you can speak to. It ingrains in every aspect of your life, it takes over the way you live, the way you think and it draws you in like a mouth to the flame.

How a Cult Operates

A Cult doesn't have to use violence in order to control their members.

Isolation is the biggest weapon a cult has to impose their values and take control. If you prevent any outside intervention or prevention, you can impose control better. Cults typically either physically isolate their members from society, friends and family or emotionally isolate them, by telling them what they want to hear and speaking ill of the outside world. The thought of 'us vs them' is a feature that always has centre stage in a cult.

Indoctrination is used to impress certain ideas upon somebody else through repetition. Any outside thought or contradiction is explained away or discouraged. Only the ideas that the group has are right, anything else is either wrong or close to sinful. It isn't exactly that people in a cult are gullible, its that cult leaders understand their weaknesses and prey on them. They focus on things that the group mistrusts and offers protection from it.

Peer Pressure is also used. The group as a whole, armed with the beliefs of the leader, are often a weapon deployed against other members. Think about it, if you were alone in a group of people and they began to isolate you or make your life unpleasant and you had no escape, you would probably conform by the end. Human nature seeks approval, especially in a group setting.

Control over almost every aspect of life is also used. Cults usually follow strict rules. Members will have to live their lives along certain rules, how they act, what they say, who they speak to, what they believe, what they do at certain times etc. The The Peoples Temple implemented sleep deprivation on its members. The Heaven's Gate Cult had a strict vegan diet. The Aum Shinrikyo Cult bathed in the blood of their leader.

Punishment would be used to correct members who step out of line or stray from the teachings. This can be anything to social stigma and isolation to physical abuse. Sometimes even the fear of punishment is enough to keep the members in line.

Cult Leaders

Cult leaders are charismatic. They draw people in due to their knowledge and instinct of what people want and they know how to make them believe that they are the one person to deliver it. Leaders will prey on the fears of their followers, making themselves seem understanding of the member's fears and plight. They will form control around the group by presenting themselves as the answer or the salvation or the path in which the members can find it. They will manipulate relationships between members, playing them off against one another or fostering close relationships to foster competition between members. They will exploit the group for whatever they can be it money or other favours; it is not uncommon for the leaders of cults to form intimate relationships with members.

Why People Join Cults

Cults offer answers. They might be whacky answers like UFOs but it is an answer. People crave something to believe in, they want something to live for. It's a mixture of desperation, desire to be apart of something larger and a need for approval and social connection. People need something bigger than themselves and they will look for that, even in the worst of places.

Escaping a Cult and Life Beyond

People can and have escaped cults. Finding the strength to question what the cult teaches you and then the strength to abandon the life you have built in the community, takes a lot out a person. First, the person will begin to become disillusioned by the ideals and dynamics in the community, this can be due to their treatment or the fact that the cult has yet to deliver the promise they made at the beginning. They may even become liberated by an outside influence and realise the situation they are in. Leaving a cult may be dangerous so it is up to your character to plan an escape. Some cult survivors used help from outside to free themselves but an escape first comes from gradual separation from aspects of the cult. But even when somebody escapes a cult physically, the emotional and mental toll can still leave scars. They may still live in fear of the leader and the community exacting retribution, they may still internalise some of the teachings of the cult, they may have a hard time adjusting to mainstream society. They will have a long road in unlearning the harmful practises and thoughts of the cult. They will need a good support system to rebuild their lives and rebuild their relationships with friends and family.

[the-cypress-grove]

Prompt: 220

"You've been stabbed, you're going to medical!"

"It's fine. I've been stabbed loads of times. I know what a serious stab wound feels like, this is more of a scratch."

"..."

"Ah."

"You've been stabbed 'loads of times.' "

"That sounded more reassuring in my head."

"You're going to medical."

[ettawritesnstudies]

Would anyone be interested if I put together a post on how to write a scientist/engineer/techy/smart-guy type character? What would y'all want to know?

[jgmartin]

writing tip #254: call your characters whatever you want because nobody can stop you. take my character Mike Rowhave.

microwave.

his name is microwave-- and believe it or not, this is entirely legal.