#building a writing habit

[paranoia-art]

°•°Habits to Give Your Characters°•°

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Constantly crosses legs when sitting

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Doodles when zoned out (if there's no paper around they could trace doodles like little hearts on a table or even on the back of their hand)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Crucks knuckles

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Braids hair when their bored (or just generally plays with their hair)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Stands way to close to people when talking to them.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Avoids eyecontact when people talk to them.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Clutches on to other's sleeves.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Bites nails when nervous

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Raises their eyebrows when interested.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Offers food to others, before taking a bite themselves.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Scratches top of nails (like when you're scratching the coat of nail polish off your nails.)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Whistles to ease nerves.

Follow @paranoia-art for more!

Do message me if you have anymore you would like to add!

[rileys-battlecats]

girl help I started writing down oc thoughts and have started contemplating the logistics of how a city carved into the walls of a ravine would have access to fresh water

[femmefatalevibe]

any tips for getting into copywriting?

Learn the basics of copywriting & writing fundamentals/ marketing skills

Study the different types of copywriting (web/banners, email, social, ads, direct mail, sales letters, etc.)

Decide on your niche(s). Study everything you can about the industry, trends, latest news, customer demographics/psychographics, customer behavior, types of lifestyles/preferences they have, how they speak, where they spend the most time (IRL or digitally)

Craft an inspiration folder full of compelling copywriting examples you find when browsing on the web, going through your email, scrolling on social media, billboards, magazines, direct mail, etc.

Practice rewriting these examples with your own flair. Evaluate it, and keep practicing until you're proud of your copy.

Be as concise, clever, and convincing as possible. Keep your tone conversational (write like how you would speak), catchy, simple, and witty. Take out any extraneous or fluff words. Pepper in cultural references, puns, and relatable anecdotes understood by your target audience when relevant to your messaging/CTA

Create a portfolio with these mock-ups or projects done for family/friends (state they're spec work, not client-commissioned samples) or clips from an internship, school work, etc.

Craft a USP for yourself (including your niche, copywriting specialties, and the specific expertise you offer within your broader niche/service offerings that makes you unique)

Create an Upwork profile and share your services on LinkedIn (optimize both of these profiles)

Research local clients and small businesses within your niche. Also, take time to create a list of dream clients. Study their copy, brand voice, and keep tabs on updates regarding these companies' happenings

Learn the art of a cold email/LinkedIn pitch/Upwork proposal. Introduce yourself and your services to your prospect and share with them how you can fulfill a specific need they're seeking out (For local and smaller companies, feel free to offer suggestions. With more established companies, connect the dots as to why your experience/expertise is a great fit for their brand/target audience), and attach your work/link to your LinkedIn profile, website, and any other relevant hub for your professional services & content

Ask for referrals from friends/family to get started. If they're not a relative, get a testimonial to include in your portfolio

Follow up once if you haven't heard back from a prospective client after an initial pitch after a few days

Search for potential gigs on sites like Upwork/ProBlogger/People Per Hour

Once you land a gig, execute to the best of your ability and hand in your work by the deadline (strategies surrounding best business practices is a whole other post, lol)

Gather testimonials from all clients of successful projects. Confirm with clients whether you can use their work in your portfolio if you're unsure

Continue studying copywriting from books, courses, and everyday reading & living

Stay knowledgeable about advancements/updates in your field, keep updated on current events, and culture/social trends, and read a lot in general. Have interesting, multi-faceted conversations with others. Observe what makes people tick & remain engaged in a verbal dialogue or content

[saetoru]

and before i part with you all once again i wanted to share that i have for the first time (and perhaps last time) 36 starred abyss

[muirmarie]

writing fic more consistently than i have for, yikes, like 8 years??? is funny because i keep realizing i'm writing directly in conversation with myself? like i find myself raising points that i inadvertently answer in something else? just internally, i mean, i don't think it is/should be noticeable from the outside, per se. but for example the time loop fic had the "when did you stop believing in me?" line, and in the knife to the throat fic i kind of realized i was writing it directly in response to that idea? idk it's just interesting when writing more consistently how my brain is just doing a call and response across different stories? i always feel so awkward talking about the process of writing lmaooooo, but anyway general reminder you can always block that first tag <3

[quillyfied]

So I’ve been trying out writing 200 words a day. I’m someone who can write about 2000 words an hour when properly motivated. The goal felt silly and like it was…not beneath me, but not equal to my potential. But the challenge isn’t the length; it’s the daily repetition of it.

I’ve had a convention and a baby’s birthday party this past fortnight so I haven’t been super consistent, but. Since I started at the beginning of February. I’ve written 2500 words. Which is 2500 words more than I would have written while waiting for a spare moment and inspiration to crank out many thousands of words.

Setting up a daily routine of small, simple maintenance steps is super hard. But the satisfaction of the small, undeniable steps of progress is really cool, actually. Really motivating.

(Plus the process is becoming like playing telephone with myself. I’ve stopped at 200 words today; wonder what’s gonna happen next 200 words?)

[dnschmidt]

How to Achieve a Daily Writing Habit

Before you can master the art of writing, you first have to master the habit. Whether you want to write professionally or as a hobby, the best way to build your skills is to write every day. Read on to learn how to start a daily writing habit.

[slowdesire]

walking getting sunlight regularly reading playing guitar eating dinner consistently and slowly eating lunch + breakfast too every now and then (work in progress lol) these all sound bare minimum and i guess they are but this is DEVELOPMENT for me 😫

[woolysocks]

going thru my journal usually helps me get back in the swing of it so here's a tour thru some pages i like :')

[thelasanga-is-poisoned]

character quirks

(all based on people in my life, including me lol)

collects snowglobes

claims to still believe in santa

has convinced multiple kids she's the tooth fairy

rolls her eyes when annoyed, but doesn't notice that she does so until someone points it out

absolutely refuses to even attempt to read cursive

constantly chewing gum, even while working out

makes friends watch barbie movies

phone is off for days at a time

can only cook boxed mac and cheese

loves board games. like, an unhealthy amount

breaks other people's pens by absentmindedly taking them apart and not knowing how to put them back together

terrified of people cracking their knuckles

won't watch a sport other than soccer

has to listen to one specific indie song before falling asleep every night

[obstinaterixatrix]

was playing coral island on sister’s computer and asked her. why is there a sticky note with a list of gunpla tools/terms. and she was like. fanfiction. & I was like LMAO SAMESIES by the way the plastic frames are called runners

[deargravity]

i’m in purgatory and by that i mean i am experiencing grief for the life i left behind and terror for the life i’m about to live and by that i mean this summer has been so transformative for me the idea of going back to who i used to be before is abhorrent to me and by that i mean i have cut off people who have kept me tethered to that regressive state of being and by that i mean i am no longer talking to any of my dear friends (middle school, high school, etc) anymore because i felt too trapped by their rigid, unrealistic expectations of me, it had gotten so unbearable that progress began to seem impossible to me and by that i mean i am feeling a loneliness so acute i begin to regret everything and consider looking back but i am doing my best to keep my eyes forward and by that i mean i am never going to be the person i was the last 3 years of my life and by that i mean better or for worse i want to feel at home in my body for once and i want to make the world a liveable place for myself and by that i mean i am grieving myself and all the time i wasted trying to build up the courage to do something and by that i mean i am trying so hard but i am learning to make peace with being tired and by that i mean i have made progress and i am going to put effort into being proud of myself. yeesh

[sassmill]

Oops I really really love this one

[muirmarie]

I have been falling down on the job tbh. This is my accountability post. Need to finish something by next weekend - and I absolutely know the way that I write, that is MORE than reasonable. Something finished/posted by next weekend!!!!! If I don't, then I don't get to read ANYTHING until I do.

Self, this is a THREAT.

[we-are-the-memers-mr]

neurodivergent-friendly advice on forming habits for creatives (& anyone, really) - with photos

Habits marked with ⭐ are the most important ones, imo.

A good way to build habits that you don't read in books is to make the habit desirable. You can look up the other methods (Atomic Habits and other similar books are great).

But for this one, if you're anything like my neurodivergent mentally ill butt you need things to be desirable in some way to get you to do them.

So what does desirability mean?

It means that it makes you want to do it, with energy and enthusiasm! Or at least not hate the task and yourself and everyone and everything! Something desirable for a habit may include:

Organized

Goblin tools link - https://goblin.tools

The best way to ensure you can perform a habit is to make it EASY. The best way to make it easy is to be organized. Yes this is difficult but you'll get better over time and it'll pay off with dividends of you being very likely to Do The Thing (tm) if you combine this with a few other things on this list (plus the normal habit formation stuff, but honestly loving what you do will make you way more likely to do it than tying it to another habit!).

⭐Put it somewhere easy to access that you can get to EASILY every day, preferably something you already have a habit of going to, e.g. your desk or your lounge room.

⭐Organize your digital files! Here's an example:

^ art (main folder)

^^ (subfolder, 1 folder deep) anatomy

^^^ (subfolder, 2 folders deep) female anatomy

^^^^ (subfolder, 3 folders deep) female torso...

^^^ (subfolder, 2 folders deep) male anatomy

^^^^ (subfolder, 3 folders deep) male torso...

Etc, etc.

Tl;dr (non technical speak): make a folder within a folder for each aspect of your project/task.

📂Every once in a while (can be weekly, monthly, 6 monthly, etc.) sort out your digital files. If you're no longer using that folder, put it in either a "not currently in use" folder to use again later, or if you're done with it, put it in an archive, on either your computer or (preferably) on a hard drive for safe keeping.

📂I have a "quick access" folder with all the folders I'm currently using in it. This is so all I need to do is find the quick access folder and this way I don't have to sort through a sea of dozens of random folders to find the useful ones. This is also good because there are some windows folders you can't relocate and they sit there taking up space and making it visually more cluttered. Note: Be sure to back up your important folders once every week to 3 months.

📂If you want to go super advanced, there are desktop folder kits on Etsy (and perhaps some free ones? though be careful with downloading random things, you may get a virus). They make the folders look aesthetic.

📂Personally, I use either Obsidian or Notion, depending on what I'm doing (usually Obsidian). I recently installed Askify, which can connect to both. Cool thing about it is that you can add notes from any site on the net including YouTube, it takes screenshots for you, and grabs a timestamp as well as being able to summarise the past 15 seconds of the video for you (though it usually just types what the person said, but this can be helpful). It's $3.50 AUD a month, but Obsidian and Notion are free so you can just use those if you can't afford it.

📂⭐Keep the space you're working in as tidy as you can manage. Try to make a habit of every night taking all dishes and empty drinks into the kitchen before you go to sleep.

📂⭐If you have your own space, don't be afraid to rearrange it! I recently rearranged my entire apartment and using my own cleaning advice - if you haven't used it in the past 6 months, consider chucking it out (if it's not expensive), if it doesn't make you happy, earn you money, and isn't useful regularly in some way, chuck it out - and now I'm 100x more physically comfortable, especially because I have an air conditioner next to me now near where I both work and sleep. If you have trouble visualising, try using a website to do so or draw it on paper until it feels right. Pro tip: you don't have to throw away everything, you can also donate it to an op shop/charity/homeless shelter that accepts donations if it's still usable, or you can sell it if it's high-ish quality and worth something.

📂⭐*If you can't do it today, then put it on your to-do list for tomorrow. Keep transferring unfinished tasks to tomorrow until your list is free from tasks.

📂⭐Generally good advice, especially for neurodivergents (but everyone needs to know!): take a dang break every once in a while! If you find yourself getting frustrated with something, take a break, possibly until tomorrow.

... If you have to do it today, do something to break it up, e.g. a nap or a shower. After this, give it a little while to keep cooling off if you still feel bad, then go back to the task.

... If it's something you have more time to do, stop doing it when it stops being fun/enjoyable. If you don't get fun/enjoyment out of it to begin with, stop when it's no longer interesting. Stop BEFORE you get to the point where you're pushing yourself. That is how you make yourself hate whatever you're doing and get a massive block from doing the task. Trust me, I didn't write a story for over 3 years after writing every single day because I pushed myself to the point it was frustrating to do and forced myself to keep going. Not worth it, wish I hadn't.

Sight

⭐Especially good for creative and visual types, like people who like art, design, front-end web devs, game devs, animators, writers etc.⭐

🎨Aesthetically pleasing - e.g. plugins that can change the aesthetic of programs. A good example is the extremely extensive library of plugins and themes available for Obsidian, all free to install. You can also get aesthetic Notion templates, too, but they often cost money (though you can find free ones on the official Notion template website!).

🎨Some aesthetic program add-ons include: the extensive free plugin/theme library for Obsidian (you can even connect it to back up to GitHub for free, though it's very technical) and aesthetic Notion templates - here's a link to where you can find free ones (there are other categories, too, not just for productivity) - https://www.notion.so/templates/category/personal-productivity?paid=free -------- If you want a link to my Etsy store to buy a nice looking aesthetic Notion template for university students (or a different special one just for design students!) for cheap that has better features than the free ones, go here: https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PointyBirdDesigns?ref=seller-platform-mcnav§ion_id=47390214

🎨Nice colours that you like.

🎨Nice shapes - e.g. your office has a circular painting that you love the shape of (and it makes you happy to look at it).

🎨Nice visual texture - e.g. you're writing a book - consider doing it in a program that has unlimited pages and has a paper texture in the background with no ads or distractions (and can go full screen).

Smell

👃If you're not sensitive to perfumes, spraying a nice scent whenever you do the habit could make you feel happier. You may even start to associate the task with that nice smell.

👃Make sure the area you're working in smells nice. Bad smells can be major subconscious distractions.

Sound

🙉The object associated with your habit makes a satisfying sound, e.g. for writing you might want a certain type of keyboard, like a mechanical keyboard that makes a satisfying "thunk" with each key press and makes you feel like a professional writer. Some browsers like Opera GX (not sponsored) also allow you to add typing sounds directly to the browser, so if you can't afford a nice keyboard but still want a satisfying sound you might want to try that if you're doing a lot in your browser. Otherwise, iirc, there are also writing programs that might do something similar (you'll have to look for them yourself, I can't remember sorry).

🙉⭐You can use things for background noise while you're doing the task if you either have it down really low or you don't need to hear your recordings for it. E.g. for editing a video you can play very soft instrumental music (I don't recommend anything with words, it'll confuse you when they mix with your audio), or if you're doing something like sorting through paperwork you can put on whatever type of music you like or even a twitch or youtube vod/stream on while you're doing it. It sacrifices a tiny bit of optimal brainpower, but you'll likely be less bored and be able to do the task for longer so it'll likely even out, and if you're concerned, you can often do polishing touches at the end to make sure your work is good.

🙉Headphones can go a long way for focus in busy places. Noise cancelling ones can help a lot if you have the cash.

Tactile

🤗*Generally you want to be physically comfortable when performing your habit. If you can afford it/can save up and it's causing you discomfort, try to replace it. A good place to find quality furniture for cheap is your local tender centre. Sometimes op shops are good options, but they're usually more expensive. I found an amazing ergonomic chair for $100 that was worth about $500 - $600. Good things come along sometimes, just keep looking.

🤗If it's something that requires you to go outside and you can afford it, try investing in a few nice outfits to make yourself feel more confident for days when you're feeling less motivated.

🤗⭐If you're neurodivergent or sensitive to textures, make sure before you buy something that you can run your hand along it many times and not feel awful. Honestly, everyone should do this. We all have preferences.

🤗⭐Don't ignore things that make you feel uncomfortable! Why? Because in my experience it's a bit like in video games - these things stack up like debuffs. What I'm saying is, it may not be a big thing to have bright lights hurting your eyes, but if you have bright lights, an uncomfortable chair, and your environment isn't clean, this can be sensory hell, especially for neurodivergents. Write down the things that make you uncomfortable and fix as many as possible, one by one. Don't end up like your neglected sims who are very talented but are completely and utterly miserable because you don't fix the things that are bothering them and don't fulfil their basic needs!

🤗⭐If it bothers you, fix it as soon as you can. It's easy to let little annoyances pass, but just like when a sim does something they dislike, your tolerance for it will be grated until you feel absolutely awful and/or snap. This goes for things as little as your room being too cold (get a blanket or if you can afford it and have one, put the heater on!) or too hot. Do NOT screw around with things you can fix in under 2-30 minutes. If you can fix it in under 2 minutes, do it right now. If you can fix it in under 10 minutes, write it down and do it today. For the rest, add it to either a weekly, monthly, or some day to-do list. Scheduling it for a certain period of time makes it more likely to get done, though. If you're like me and can't do something when you force yourself to or are told you have to, just schedule it to be done within a certain week or month. No pressure.

Feeling

💜⭐A good rule of thumb is that you've achieved desirability when you feel excited to do the habit. If this excitement ever wears off, try mixing and matching other ways of building desirability or changing something about the habit, e.g. the prompt (see habit building books or summaries for more info). Keep it fresh! Whenever you get bored, change things around.

💜⭐Listen to your emotions. Emotions are the body's way of communicating things with you, whether it be about your environment or about your body or mental state. Sure, some are irrational, but every emotion has a story to tell. Try listening. Don't push your emotions down, learn to process them. If you don't know how, a therapist can help.

Bonus note:

Don't spend beyond your means! If you can't afford it, don't buy it! I am not telling you to go out and spend as much as you can on these things. Mid-range is usually the best bang for your buck, and can often be found for cheap in op shops and tender centres, as I said.

Good luck! If you have any bonus tips feel free to reblog this post or comment and add them!

[someoldfires]

an unexpected challenge when writing about vampires is that it is really difficult to describe people’s internal and external reactions to stimuli when those people do not have a heartbeat or need to breathe