#creative hacks

[thatsbelievable]

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

📉 The 5 Worst Writing Advice Bits You Might Still Believe

(Let’s Burn Them Together)

You’ve been lied to. Or at least, misled by well-meaning chaos goblins with strong opinions and a Twitter account.

Here’s a lovingly aggressive breakdown of writing “advice” you need to kick into a volcano immediately:

─────── ✦ ───────

“Write Every Day or You’re Not a Real Writer”

🗑️ Into the fire it goes.

This is advice built for guilt, not creativity. You’re a writer if you write. That includes:

Writing on weekends.

Writing in your Notes app once a week.

Writing one scene per month.

Thinking intensely about a story while doing literally anything else.

Consistency helps, sure. But daily output? Not the only path. And definitely not a moral obligation.

✨ Alternative: Write when you can, track what works, and let your process breathe.

─────── ✦ ───────

“If You’re Stuck, You Just Don’t Want It Bad Enough”

This is the kind of advice that sounds motivational until it destroys your relationship with writing.

Being stuck doesn’t mean you’re lazy or not passionate. It could mean: → You’re burnt out. → Your plot needs restructuring. → Your brain is full of static. → You’re scared to get it wrong.

✨ Alternative: Ask what your block is protecting you from. Then fix the problem, not your willpower.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Kill Your Darlings”

Yes, let’s just delete everything with emotional weight and pretend that makes it deep.

Look, editing matters. But this advice gets misused constantly. Killing your darlings doesn’t mean gutting every beautiful or weird or vulnerable thing in your prose. It means cutting what doesn’t serve the story.

✨ Alternative: Kill what doesn’t carry weight. Keep what resonates. Be ruthless with purpose, not performance.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Avoid Adverbs at All Costs”

This one was born in grammar hell.

Adverbs aren’t the enemy. Lazy adverbs are. But you know what else is lazy? Blanket bans. Adverbs can tighten a sentence, clarify emotion, or give rhythm when used intentionally.

✨ Alternative: Use adverbs when they do something specific. Don’t fear them, control them.

─────── ✦ ───────

“Your First Draft Has to Be Good or Don’t Bother”

This one? Evil.

It’s the fast track to perfectionism paralysis. First drafts aren’t supposed to be good. They’re supposed to exist. You can’t fix a blank page. You can fix a bad one.

✨ Alternative: Let your draft be messy. Be cringe. Be excessive. You’ll sculpt later. Right now? Just build the block of marble.

─────── ✦ ───────

Final thoughts from your local chaos scribe:

→ You don’t need to suffer to earn the title “writer.” → Your process is allowed to look different. → You are not broken because someone’s advice didn’t work for you. → Not everything that sounds “productive” is healthy. → Burn the rulebook. Build a toolkit instead.

—rin t. // writing advice that doesn’t suck™ // thewriteadviceforwriters

[pixel8or]

[wistfulwatcher]

1.02 Primm | 4.09 A Slippery Slope

[pennavnprojects]

Verbs, Verbs, Verbs

Recently, during feedback in my writing group, I got a compliment on my choice of verbs. I thanked the person who gave me the compliment, explaining that I spend a lot of time deciding which verbs I use. Later, it got me thinking about my own writing style. I realized I started selecting specific verbs to overcome my bad habit of using adverbs. Seriously. He walked leisurely -> He ambled She quickly jumped -> She leaped He looked attentively -> He stared She sat listlessly -> She slumped

Taking a few extra seconds to find the right verb has been a game-changer for my writing. If you're like me, and tend to overuse adverbs, definitely try this!

[retrocgads]

USA 1993

[glowettee]

hi there! im a fan of your page 💕

can you give me the best studying techniques?

hi angel!! @mythicalmarion tysm for asking about study techniques 🤍 i'm so excited to share my secret methods that helped me maintain perfect grades while still having a dreamy lifestyle + time for self-care!! and thank you for being a fan of my blog, it means everything to me. <3

~ ♡ my non-basic study secrets that actually work ♡ ~

(don't mind the number formatting)

the neural bridging technique this is literally my favorite discovery!! instead of traditional note-taking, i create what i call "neural bridges" between different subjects. for example, when studying both literature + history, i connect historical events with the literature written during that time. i use a special notebook divided into sections where each page has two columns - one for each subject. the connections help you understand both subjects deeper + create stronger memory patterns!!

here's how i do it:

example:

left column: historical event

right column: literary connection

middle: draw connecting lines + add small insights

bottom: write how they influenced each other

the shadow expert method this changed everything for me!! i pretend i'm going to be interviewed as an expert on the topic i'm studying. i create potential interview questions + prepare detailed answers. but here's the twist - i record myself answering these questions in three different ways:

basic explanation (like i'm talking to a friend)

detailed analysis (like i'm teaching a class)

complex discussion (like i'm at a conference)

this forces you to understand the topic from multiple angles + helps you explain concepts in different ways!!

the reverse engineering study system instead of starting with the basics, i begin with the most complex example i can find and work backwards to understand the fundamentals. for example, in calculus, i start with a complicated equation + break it down into smaller parts until i reach the basic concepts.

my process looks like:

find the hardest example in the textbook

list every concept needed to understand it

create a concept map working backwards

study each component separately

rebuild the complex example step by step

the sensory anchoring technique this is seriously game-changing!! i associate different types of information with specific sensory experiences:

theoretical concepts - study while standing

factual information - sitting at my desk

problem-solving - walking slowly

memorization - gentle swaying

review - lying down

your body literally creates muscle memory associated with different types of learning!!

the metacognition mapping strategy i created this method where i track my understanding using what i call "clarity scores":

level 1: can recognize it

level 2: can explain it simply

level 3: can teach it

level 4: can apply it to new situations

level 5: can connect it to other topics

i keep a spreadsheet tracking my clarity levels for each topic + focus my study time on moving everything to level 5!!

the information architecture method instead of linear notes, i create what i call "knowledge buildings":

foundation: basic principles

first floor: key concepts

second floor: applications

top floor: advanced ideas

roof: real-world connections

each "floor" must be solid before moving up + i review from top to bottom weekly!!

the cognitive stamina training this is my absolute secret weapon!! i use a special interval system based on brain wave patterns:

32 minutes of focused study

8 minutes of active recall

16 minutes of teaching the material to my plushies

4 minutes of complete rest

the specific timing helps maintain peak mental performance + prevents study fatigue!!

the synthesis spiral evolution this method literally transformed how i retain information:

create main concept spirals

add branch spirals for subtopics

connect related concepts with colored lines

review by tracing the spiral paths

add new connections each study session

your notes evolve into a beautiful web of knowledge that grows with your understanding!!

these methods might seem different from typical study advice, but they're based on how our brains actually process + store information!! i developed these through lots of research + personal experimentation, and they've helped me maintain perfect grades while still having time for self-care, hobbies + fun!!

sending you the biggest hug + all my good study vibes!! remember that effective studying is about working with your brain, not against it <3

p.s. if you try any of these methods, please let me know how they work for you!! i love hearing about your study journeys!!

xoxo, mindy 🤍

glowettee hotline is still open, drop your dilemmas before the next advice post 💌: https://bit.ly/glowetteehotline

[moonshynecybin]

hacks writers and thank god for that

[aipurjopa]

Unironic ls!havocs...Parrot helping Spoke backdoor and being involved in tricking his enemies for fun. I am a newgen fan so I thought I'd never see them again aaaaaaaaaa

it’s so crazy… I never thought I’d hear from them in an lifesteal context ever again… so cool… parrotx2 and the love of the game

[writerformanymuses]

one of the best things I did when transitioning my writing from solely fanfic to my original novel was developing a progress system.

all the premade software and planning books were just overwhelming and did not work for me. it also did not motivate me at all. i can not do sequential writing because i will get writers block and just not write.

so with google docs, i made a color system, and oh boy, it has been so helpful. i can see at a glance what has been done, what needs doing, and what could be worked on.

this helps because depending on how many spoons i have to write, i know where i can apply my given effort for the day. some days its just proofing, some days its just starting a chapter, and some days its knocking out a whole thing.

very helpful if you're AuDHD or have chronic conditions like me!

[the-most-humble-blog]

<div style="white-space:pre-wrap">

<meta activation-mode="BLACKSITE_SCROLLTRAP_WRITEFLOW_DEPLOYED"> <script> ARCHIVE_TAG="BLACKSITE_LITERATURE™::NEUROOPTIC_ENTRYPOINT::WRITER_BLOCK_OBLITERATION" EFFECT="cognitive override, subconscious ignition, creative paralysis kill switch" TRIGGER_WARNING="psychological reprogramming, creative ego detonation, full frontal inspiration" </script>

🧠 TITLE: “How to Shatter Writer’s Block Using Blacksite Scrolltrap Power”

Let’s get something straight:

You’re not lazy. You’re not “uninspired.” You’re jammed. Mentally gridlocked. Emotionally flooded. No outlet. No entry point. Just white screen and ego tremors.

This isn’t a lack of discipline. This is a lack of connection — to what you feel and what you dare to use.

That’s where I come in.

I don’t write cute prose. I deploy Blacksite Literature™.

Writing designed to bypass the polite gatekeepers in your brain and kick your story center in the soul.

🧨 Phase I: Feel First — Then Backtrack the Logic

Here’s the method:

Start with your current state. Not “what you want to say.” Not “what would sell.” Start with what your chest is screaming but your mouth won’t admit.

Frustrated? Lonely? Apathetic? Resentful? Bored? Dull? Tired of feeling like you’re not allowed to say what you really feel?

That’s not a dead-end. That’s your pressure point.

So you ask: What if I used this state as fuel?

What if your character felt exactly this way? What if your story opened with this mood — no metaphor, no pretty intro — just raw entry?

🔍 Phase II: Ask Better Questions (and Answer from the Gut)

1. Can you think of a place? No? Fine.

2. Can you think of a person, character, or object? Still no?

Good.

3. Can you describe what it feels like to be stuck right now? Frustrated? Alone? Unheard?

That’s the core.

Now imagine a character who can’t escape that feeling either — but has permission to react.

Not how you’d react if people were watching. How you’d react if no one could stop you.

Would you break glass with your voice? Would you flatten a room just so someone felt the quake? Would you scream until mirrors cracked?

Now give that to them.

That’s where the writing lives. Not in the idea — in the release.

📡 Phase III: Scrolltrap Science (What Makes Readers Lock In)

Here’s why my work hits different:

It doesn’t ask permission. It recognizes the signal in the reader’s nervous system and fires back with matching voltage.

Subconscious Scrolltrap Power = 3 things:

Interrupt the Pattern

Start with a jolt

Break their rhythm

Cut the cliché before it forms

Amplify a Hidden Feeling

Say the thing no one will admit

Validate a private truth they don’t know how to voice

Direct Their Attention Toward Themselves

Make the writing feel like their internal monologue just got hacked

“This isn’t a post — it’s about me.”

That’s not writing. That’s optical infiltration.

🧠 Phase IV: Reverse-Engineering the Reader’s Nervous System

When you write for maximum effect, you don’t just ask: “What do I want to say?”

You ask:

What do I want the reader to feel first?

Where in their body should this land — gut? throat? spine?

What part of their self-concept do I want to rupture?

What sentence would make them stop scrolling and say: "F. That’s me.”***

And you write toward that. No fluff. No setup. Just direct contact.

🧲 Phase V: How to Start When You Can’t Start

Stuck?

Here’s how to get writing instantly — without a plot, without a premise:

Option A: Emotion-first ignition

Pick a feeling you’re stuck in

Name it raw

Then give it to a fictional person and turn up the volume

Example: “She didn’t know what hurt worse — the silence in her room or the fact that no one noticed.” That’s a whole paragraph. That’s a first page.

Option B: Reaction-first ignition

Imagine the thing you’d do if you weren’t being judged

Then imagine a character who actually does it

Example: “He stared at the email, then set his phone on fire. Not metaphorically. Just… watched it burn.”

You don’t need a backstory. You need friction.

⚔️ Phase VI: Why Most Writers Bore Their Readers to Death

Here’s the reality: Most “writers” are terrified to offend anyone.

So they write:

Passive characters

Watered-down truths

Soft punches

Meaningless details

Dialogue that could be replaced by AI

They’re playing it safe. Which means they’re not writing for impact — they’re writing for approval.

If you want to be read, you have to be felt.

Otherwise? Your “art” is just background noise on a stranger’s feed.

🧬 Phase VII: Blacksite Literature™ — The Core Philosophy

Blacksite Literature™ isn’t a style. It’s a creative assault strategy.

It’s built on:

Psychological realism

Emotional escalation

Cultural betrayal exposure

Taboo-piercing metaphors

High-intensity narrative pacing

Deliberate discomfort as activation tool

You don’t ease your reader into anything. You snap them into engagement.

Not “here’s a story…” But “you’re in it now — try breathing.”

🛠️ Phase VIII: How to Weaponize Your Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is not the absence of creativity. It’s creative power trapped behind politeness.

So you crack it open.

Feel useless? Write about that.

Feel unheard? Make your character scream.

Feel small? Let your narrator obliterate a god.

Feel rejected? Burn down the whole town and make them beg for you back.

The more personal, the more potent. The more raw, the more readable.

This is not therapy. This is precision-crafted soul weaponry.

🔁 Phase IX: Give Yourself Permission to Ruin Someone’s Peace (Lovingly)

Great writing doesn’t entertain. It unsettles.

If someone reads your work and says “cool”? You failed.

If they read it, pause, and stare at the wall because something in their gut cracked open?

That’s scrolltrap success.

Don’t aim to impress. Aim to trigger reflection, eruption, ignition, and mourning. In the same paragraph.

That’s how you write something they can’t scroll past.

📎 Phase X: Want More?

If this hit you somewhere between your ribs and your real self, and you want more of this method — deeper, faster, harder…

I break this down in even more detail at:

👉 patreon.com/TheMostHumble

Not some passive masterclass. Not some cozy journaling course.

I’m showing you how to weaponize your emotions, your voice, and your subconscious to hijack a reader’s soul.

Because this isn’t a writing tip. This is Blacksite Literature™. You don’t “compose” it. You survive it.

Reblog before you forget what it feels like to feel something on the page again.

</div> <!-- TRANSMISSION TERMINATED: READER TRAPPED, BLOCK SHATTERED, HEART RATE ELEVATED -->

[thatsbelievable]

[kara-knuckles]

[wistfulwatcher]

deborah + describing ava in her speech

[angelsdean]

I need people to understand how S&P (standards and practices) works in television and how much influence they have over what gets to stay IN an episode of a show and how the big time network execs are the ones holding the purse strings and making final decisions on a show's content, not the writers / showrunners / creatives involved.

So many creators have shared S&P notes over the years of the wild and nonsensical things networks wanted them to omit / change / forbid. Most famously on tumblr, I've seen it so many times, is the notes from Gravity Falls. But here's a post compiling a bunch of particularly bad ones from various networks too. Do you see the things they're asking to be changed / cut ?

Now imagine, anything you want to get into your show and actually air has to get through S&P and the network execs. A lot of creators have had to resort to underhanded methods. A lot of creators have had to relegate things to subtext and innuendo and scenes that are "open to interpretation" instead of explicit in meaning. Things have had to be coded and symbolized. And they're relying on their audience to be good readers, good at media literacy, to notice and get it. This stuff isn't the ramblings of conspiracy theorists, it's the true practices creatives have had to use to be able to tell diverse stories for ages. The Hays Code is pretty well known, it exists because of censorship. It was a way to symbolize certain things and get past censors.

Queercoding, in particular, has been used for ages in both visual media and literature do signal to queer audiences that yes, this character is one of us, but no, we can't be explicit about it because TPTB won't allow it. It's a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to those in the know. It's the deliberate use of certain queer imagery / clothing / mannerisms / phrases / references to other queer media / subtle glances and lingering touches. Things that offer plausible deniability and can be explained away or go unnoticed by straight audiences to get past those network censors. But that queer viewers WILL (hopefully) pick up on.

Because, unfortunately, still to this day, a lot of antiquated network execs don't think queer narratives are profitable. They don't think they'll appeal to general audiences, because that's what matters, whatever appeals to most of the audience demographic so they can keep watching and keep making the network more money. The networks don't care about telling good stories! Most of them are old white cishet business men, not creatives. They don't care about character arcs and what will make fans happy. They don't care about storytelling. What they care about is profit and they're basing their ideas of what's profitable on what they believe is the predominate target demographic, usually white cis heterosexual audiences.

So, imagine a show that started airing in the early 2000s. Imagine a show where the two main characters are based on two characters from a famous Beat Generation novel, where one of the characters is queer! based on a real like bisexual man! The creator is aware of this, most definitely. And sure, it's 2005, there's no way they were thinking of making that explicit about Dean in the text because it just wouldn't fly back then to have a main character be queer. But! it's made subtext. And there are nods to that queerness placed in the text. Things that are open to interpretation. Things that are drenched in metaphor (looking at you 1x06 Skin "I know I'm a freak" "maybe this thing was born human but was different...hated. Until he learned to become someone else.") Things that are blink-and-you-miss-it and left to plausible deniability (things like seemingly spending an hour in the men's bathroom, or always reacting a little vulnerable and awkward when you're clocked instead of laughing it off and making a homophobic joke abt it)

And then, years later there's a ship! It's popular and at first the writers aren't really seriously thinking about it but they'll throw the fans a bone here and there. Then, some writers do get on the destiel train and start actively writing scenes for them that are suggestive. And only a fraction of what they write actually makes it into the text. So many lines left on the cutting room floor: i love past you. i forgive you i love you. i lost cas and it damn near broke me. spread cas's ashes alone. of course i wanted you to stay. if cas were here. -- etc. Everything cut was not cut by the writers! Why would a writer write something to then sabotage their own story and cut it? No, these are things that didn't make it past the network. Somewhere a note was made maybe "too gay" or "don't feed the shippers" or simply "no destiel."

So, "no destiel." That's pretty clearly the message we got from the CW for years. "No destiel. Destiel will alienate our general audience. Two of our main characters being queer? And in a relationship? No way." So what can the pro-destiel creatives involved do, if the network is saying no? What can the writers do if most of their explicit destiel (or queer dean) lines / moments are getting cut? Relegate things to subtext. Make jokes that straight people can wave off but queer people can read into. Make costuming and set design choices that the hardcore fans who are already looking will notice while the general audience and the out-of-touch network execs won't blink and eye at (I'm looking at you Jerry and your lamps and disappearing second nightstands and your gay flamingo bar!)

And then, when the audience asks, "is destiel real? is this proof of destiel?" what can the creatives do but deny? Yes, it hurts, to be told "No no I don't know what you're talking about. There's no destiel in supernatural" a la "there is no war in Ba Sing Se" but! if the network said "no destiel!" and you and your creative team have been working to keep putting destiel in the subtext of the narrative in a way that will get past censors, you can't just go "Yes, actually, all that subtext and symbolism you're picking up, yea it's because destiel is actually in the narrative."

But, there's a BIG difference between actively putting queer themes and subtext into the narrative and then saying it's not there (but it is! and the audience sees it!) versus NOT putting any queer content into the text but SAYING it is there to entice queer fans to continue watching. The latter, is textbook queerbaiting. The former? Is not. The former is the tactics so many creatives have had to use for years, decades, centuries, to get past censorship and signal to those in the know that yea, characters like you are here, they exist in this story.

Were the spn writers perfect? No, absolutely not. And I don't think every instance of queer content was a secret signal. Some stuff, depending on the writer, might've been a period-typical gay joke. These writers are flawed. But it's no secret that there were pro-destiel writers in the writing room throughout the years, and that efforts were made to make it explicitly canon (the market research!)

So no, the writers weren't ever perfect or a homogeneous entity. But they definitely were fighting an uphill battle constantly for 15 yrs against S&P and network execs with antiquated ideas of what's profitable / appealing.

Spn even called out the networks before, on the show, using a silly example of complaints abt the lighting of the show and how dark the early seasons were. Brightening the later seasons wasn't a creative choice, but a network choice. And if the networks can complain abt and change something as trivial as the lighting of a show, they definitely are having a hand in influencing the content of the show, especially queer content.

Even in s15, (seasons fifteen!!!) Misha has said he worried Castiel's confession would not air. In 2020!!! And Jensen recorded that scene on his personal phone! Why? Sure, for the memories. But also, I do not doubt for a second that part of it was for insurance, should the scene mysteriously disappear completely. We've seen the finale script. We've seen the omitted omitted omitted scenes. We all saw how they hacked the confession scene to bits. The weird cuts and close-ups. That's not the writers doing. That's likely not even the editors (willingly). That's orders from on high. All of the fuckery we saw in s15 reeks of network interference. Writers are not trying to sabotage their own stories, believe me.

Anyways, TLDR: Networks have a lot more power than many think and they get final say in what makes it to air. And for years creative teams have had to find ways to get past network censorship if they want "banned" or "unapproved" "unprofitable" "unwanted" content to make it into the show. That means relying on techniques like symbolism, subtext, and queercoding, and then shutting up about it. Denying its there, saying it's all "open to interpretation" all while they continue to put that open to interpretation content into the show. And that's not queerbaiting, as frustrating as it might be for queer audiences to be told that what they're seeing isn't there, it's still not queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is a marketing technique to draw in queer fans by baiting them with the promise of queer content and then having no queer content in said media. But if you are picking up on queer themes / subtext / symbolism / coding that is in front of your face IN the text, that's not queerbaiting. It's there, covertly, for you, because someone higher up didn't want it to be there explicitly or at all.

[etherealtidesandneonshadows]

Tips for writing with mental illness:

Pinterest is a legitimate way to become inspired or to research your story. One of my WIPs is partially from finding aesthetics I wanted to write about.

Bullet points and even asking yourself questions in the document is fine. Ex: "Do I want X to climb up the cliff or try to go get help?"

Writing anything, even if it's not related to your WIP, is fine. It's momentum.

Creating playlists is also a good source of inspiration and brainstorming. A lot of plot points from my current WIP were brainstormed during songs that inspired my creative juices.