#fake it till u make it

[art-from-within]

“ What time is it? I'm nervous for the time. Let's see.. 8:10! ”

Commission by @acelestialreaper!

[compacflt]

my apologies if this is too simple or juvenile or personal a question but HOW did you become such a proficient writer? and do you have any tips or pointers to keep in mind? i know you must do a lot of reading and a lot of writing, but your skill is just incredible to me. your prose!! your cadence!! when we get around to talking about it is genuinely one of the best things i've ever read and i'd eat it if i could!!!

this ask was so sweet thank you!! rly made my day when i needed a boost. Hope you don’t mind i took a couple days to think about it cause no one’s ever asked me for writing advice before

idk how i became a “proficient” writer bc I really don’t write that much. something about my fic gave me brainworms and i went into overdrive but that’s…not my usual MO. which is why it’s weird for me too. admittedly i am studying english/creative writing as my second major at uni, but i haven’t learned anything in any of my classes you couldn’t learn by just reading and writing on your own. honestly i should’ve stuck with my IR major instead, i find structured cw classes a complete waste of time. but here are some little tips i thought of that would’ve helped ME:

This is more a “do as I say not as I do” because I’m really bad at habits like this, but keep a diary. You can write about the big events (went to the store, did homework, got laid etc.) but that’s boring—focus on the details (watched someone at west side market throw a glass bottle of olives at a rat, broke a pen and permanently stained my dorm desk and won’t get my deposit back which pissed me off because I move out in a week, this guy’s breath smelled like lemon pledge and it made me wonder if he drank window cleaner before kissing me etc.). Real life is really interesting! How can you write about interesting real life in an interesting way? It’s a good way to practice. You don’t have to do a big reflection at the end of the day or anything. It’s okay to jot down something you saw & then immediately forget about it. It’s the act of figuring out how to translate life into words that’s important

If you type, learn how to type FAST. This is just my experience, but I think typing faster makes your cadence, clause length, dialogue, IDEAS flow better/more naturally. We think in words/sentences, not letters.

This is a super lame tip that’ll make you roll your eyes, but read poetry. Poetry is all about how words/ideas/images sound and interact with each other. Don’t get hung up on one poet—im not really recommending any for precisely this reason—read poetry you love (for me, Ada Limón, Jack Kerouac, Frank O’Hara, ghazals etc) AND read poetry you hate (for me, Rupi Kaur, Emily Dickinson, Whitman, etc)! Read all genres you can get your hands on. (I think there are like “great poetry anthologies” you can find for free online if u don’t know where to start. Also you can’t go wrong with subscribing to/reading a variety magazine like the NYer. It’s pretentious but it exposes you to all kinds of weird topics, ways of writing about them, etc.) Figure out how certain combinations of words and punctuations make you FEEL, and why, and why the writer chose (or not) to make you feel that way. Figure out which literary sounds you like and which ones you don’t. For me, i figured out that I REALLY like alliteration, comma splices, zeugmas, the rule of three, and

“he’s [verb]ing again… yeah compacflt’s characters are [verb]ing again… big shocker”

If you have an idea for a piece, figure out what it is you really want to get out of it—to say something? to experiment with a different style? to see your fav characters do something? to have fun?—and then figure out how, on a technical level, you should write to match that goal (this is where the poetry training comes in handy). If you’re just writing to have fun, don’t listen to any writing advice (incl. mine), because most of it is bullshit and over-generalized and will make you feel bad about yourself. Just take the advice that you think will work for what YOURE trying to write.

But if you’re writing to explore some political idea, then you should think about HOW to best write about that idea. What would be a convincing story/allegory/scene to engage with this idea vs. not convincing. I talk on this blog all the time about how disappointed I am that my very-adult-grown-up attempt to deal with the dynamic of “immovable internalized homophobia vs unstoppable falling in love anyway” is rendered a little childish/immature by some pretty unconvincing plot points like the characters buying a house together—I really should have considered how that plot point would interact with the characterizations I’d built already (hint: poorly). You can think of writing as kind of a military structure if that helps—you have strategy on the overarching campaign (plot/character growth/allegory/theme) level, the battle (scene that advances the above) level, and the tactical (sentence-level construction/syntax/wording) level. They all have to work together. If a scene is failing to properly engage with the idea you’re trying to convey, you’re losing a battle that will weaken the overarching campaign. Same thing if you choose a weird word in a sentence/write in a style or tone that’s weirdly out of place with your idea—it makes your engagement with the theme/idea less convincing. just try to be purposeful and consider your strategy on all levels of your work as you’re writing it!! At the very least it’ll make editing easier lol.

But then again when I read my own writing from just a couple months ago I cringe out of my skin, so like—just also accept that it’s a process and we’re all just making it up as we go along. Be proud of being embarrassed of your old work, because it means you’re growing. Own that shit. When I finished writing WWGATTAI i thought it was the best thing I’d ever written, and maybe it was. But since the day I finished working on it, it’s the worst thing I’ve written since then. That’s a great feeling. Not to be like writing grindset obviously bc it’s supposed to be fun—but if what you want is to get better at writing, the strategy is to WRITE a whole bunch of shit, and then own your embarrassment about how much you’ve grown since you started. And know you’re still always growing and learning. there should never be any “goals” where skills are concerned 👍🏽

[astraystayyh]

I have a group project and I feel really bad bc I’m not really contributing much but the project really doesn’t need more than one person. Like I feel like if I was more confident I’d say my opinions but whenever I try someone talks over me which to be fair I’m very quiet and not assertive so its not that they’re rude. it’s just really annoying cause I dont want them to think that I’m lazy but idk what to do. Ugh I hate group projects.

im sorry to hear this bb, group projects can be icky but remember that these are fellow students with you, they aren't professors, they aren't experts and u are both there to contribute and learn. they aren't above you, and their opinions aren't more important than yours. the moment u realize u are both on equal grounds, u'd start feel more comfortable sharing your ideas, because what's the worst that could happen? them not agreeing with your point? then you'd get to debate around it and one of u will convince the other in the end. like trust me baby we're allllll humans just trying to get by day by day

i used to feel really nervous in group projects too but then i realized they probably feel that way too, so! no need to second guess yourself you're doing very well, i promise

[eelnoise]

[thisperfectmonsoon]

one week till my birthday ✨

[princess-aries]

talked about my dad trauma in therapy today bc the holidays are hard and pretty sure i made my therapist cry so i texted my mom about it and she left me on read. i'm doing good i'm doing SO GOOD

[garudabluffs]

"When people would ask me what it was like to be in the music business in Los Angeles, I’d say, “Sincerity is very important. If you can learn to fake that, you’ll be fine.” [Laughs.]

No Small Wonder

Dacher Keltner On The Science Of Awe

By Mark Leviton • September 2023

READ MORE https://thesunmagazine.org/issues/573/no-small-wonder?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

[alyszaen]

i need my music to be so loud that i cant feel my body anymore

[xiaosenthusiast]

fake it till you make it 「REMAKE」

🪐 ; SYNOPSIS — academic rivals, xiao and yn find themselves in an awkward situation after an unexpected confession at a house party. “someone get me popcorn cause what is this bullshit? a fanfic?”

🎬 ; START — 08/21/24

🎀 ; A/N — whether you’re new to this series or a returnee, welcome! the og fitymi is still linked in my master list and it is also here if you’re interested in reading that. updates are gonna be irregular since im actually about to get super busy LOL i’ll update when and if i can!

NOTES ; time stamps do not matter!!

────୨ৎ────

QTEES🍊! • minions

prologue

" the getting closer arc "

1. is this a sick joke 2. my fault?

3. "it'll die down" 4. famous last words

5. tba 6. tba

7. tba 8. tba

9. tba 10. tba

—

💫 ; TAGLIST — open just send me a dm or respond to this post !! if your name is in green i can't tag you due to your privacy settings :)

(9/35) @layla240 @eccedentesiast-sapphic @okukura @trulyylee @6blxe @jayzioxx @x-hihihi-x @anqelkoz @jiminscarmex

[iztea]

study hack from yours truly: in order to understand hard/challenging concepts you simply need to think of yourself as delusionally smart. i mean genuis level brains. believe that things simply make sense in your mind, they click and you are just inherently good at [difficult topic] even if that's far cry from the truth you'd be surprised of just how much more you're capable of once you let go of that mental block

[bojackhorsemanobviously]

Bobo around stan well minus the really bad days

@stanbarf

electric circus // bad suns

[darlingfreddie]

applied for a library job lets all hope I actually get it

[skellydun]

my job makes me want to die

[forthbeaming]

at the end of our hope, at the end of our time

• alanjeff

• pacific rim au, blood and injury, j-mech jeff and ppdc general alan, love in the time of kaiju attack, one-shot, 19k

[littleplantfreak]

you're doing amazing and i love you 🫂🫂💖💖

(i searched through my hugging image library to select the perfect one and decided i was in the mood to squish you so here we go 💖💖)

I love when you squish me and i love you too!!!

[shortnsweetgf]

its my birthday but u guys are the ones getting a present (being My friend as i am the most nicest and funniest and friendliest and cutest person to ever exist)