#share to help a writer

[pen-for-sword]

Lmao this sucks but

Queer, trans Chinese-Indonesian uni student (and dog) needs about $400 to cover rent for one year, please help?

P@yPäI: @ easternrose99

KoFi: @ pen-for-sword

Patreon: patreon.com/kai_hu

I can, uh, do shitty doodles of anything at Pay-What-You-Want starting at $1. I also do proofreading & editing, so if anyone's interested in that just shoot me a DM.

Picture of my dog^ Her name is Emily and she means the world to me.

I know money's tight these days, and I hate that I have to do this at all, but I'm getting desperate and there's not a lot of places that'll take me and my dog (for context I live in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, a heavily Muslim area. Dogs are considered haram, so it's a huge pain to find a landlord that will let me bring her with me).

Rent is paid per year and upfront here- it's a little over $1.5k for me. I got most of it- and let me tell you, as a uni student with no real job, it was hell scrimping and saving to make it- but I'm still about $400 short. My partner was supposed to help me make half of that rent, but ever since he got laid off he's had trouble finding work.. I ended up putting in my half of rent plus some of his but it's still not enough.

December was already pretty miserable- I lost my grandpa suddenly in a freak elevator accident and was shipped off immediately after to do my mandatory community service (graduation requirement). Shit way to start the new year, really.

Since I'm from a third world country every dollar really does count for a lot :") for scale, $5 USD converted to IDR would be enough to get me a steak at a nice restaurant. $400 USD is the equivalent to a little over a month's salary working in the capital city. If you can't donate then please reblog or share, there's a small chance somebody who can help will see it.

Thanks guys. Hope your 2025 is going better than mine is rn 😭👍

[thestarfishface]

tfw you have a loose collection of ideas for a new story but it's still really early on so most of it's really loose concepts and not anything solid enough to fully brainstorm, but you REALLY REALLY want to get to the point where you can DO something with it

I have essentially planted a mystery seed in the garden and am now staring at the little patch of soil waiting for something to happen and it's driving my CRAZYYYYYYY

[idkhowtobenormal]

hey... hey you

do you like hurting blorbos? do you like enemies to lovers? do you like long and dramatic tales of bullying fictional character? do you like jazz/prowl?

i present a sneak peak into a project that ive been working on for a while. jazz/prowl enemies to lovers trauma fic that focuses on disabilities, disorders, and mental health issues. very angsty very fluff. currently at 35k but thats with me jumping from chapters so

Mind, Spark, Star uses silly little guys and bullshit to create accurate and education infomation on real life issues

i sound like im writing an essay over here but fr, i bully jazz for 40 chapters, beat the shit out of him, and then let him have a husband and adopt half the base its a good time and a project im so excited to begin to share

[alanaartdream]

Because I follow adem one of those who is on the writers strike team I figured I’d try to take his advice on how to help the writers out (this is one I’ve dueted to share on my own tiktok where it links back to adem and the other one where it’s just adem talking about how to help writers out is on my @reblogalanaartdream blog )

Share them around tumblr if you want to bring awareness and PLEASE do go check adem out on tiktok for more ways to help the writers guild out

[mauvecherie-writes]

urgent support.

Hi guys, now I’m not ashamed to always ask for help but when it’s monetary, it always adds this layer of shame to it. However, I am an unemployed student still struggling to find work.

Until I get my student finance - I’m in overdraft and I have bills and expenses I need to cover for until then.

If you can please donate anything at all to my pot to achieve £150 it would be a massive help.

Thank you, thank you, thank you 🩷🩷🩷🩷

PAYPAL

KO-FI

[includedisco]

As writers, let's ask each other for help with our problems instead of normalizing "the struggle of being a writer"

Being a writer comes with so, so many struggles and we've all shared them here on Tumblr several times. Few examples include, the constant hunger for validation, writers block, grammar, lack of inspiration, lack etc.

Today I want to say that the community does exist for us to get help from each other. If none of the many blogs on here touch directly on the problems you're facing, you can, for example, leave questions under those blog posts or do a blog post of your own where you HONESTLY & FREELY outline your issues without any reservation or shame.

My writing life changed yesterday, few days after I did a blog post where I confessed my weaknesses as a fanfic writer. A fellow writer was sweet enough for leave some VERY USEFUL tips for me in the comments. They changed my writing life for ever I tell you. The advice didn't solve all my problems but it certainly solved some and, who doesn't want less problems?

Someone else always know something you don't and vice versa, let's open up and reach out to help each other through the hurdles of writing.

Thank you sm again for your writing advice @a-couple-of-no-good-weeks. I hope you don't mind that I mentioned you here ☺️ I'm just so grateful

[writingwithfolklore]

About my manuscript..

I've been working on the same story for the past 7 years (oops) and just this past week I finished my final edit--before alpha readers, beta readers, soo much feedback and professional editing of course. But it's a big step forward, it almost doesn't feel real after spending so much time and brain space on it!

Anyway, big, exciting news that I wanted to share with you guys and tell you a little bit about the project that's been eating up my past near decade <3

Reblog with a little bit about your manuscript (or multiple) or anything you're working on right now writing wise :-) I'd love to hear about it!

[danothan]

Just reading some comics and saw a panel I thought you might like. :)

ah fuck, characters reminiscing always get to me ;__;

but i will never ever get over that fond way these two talk to and abt each other. especially when they’re poking fun, you can just hear the love in their voice it’s SICK.

the halbarry love language is annoying each other, but even more than that, it’s being each other’s exceptions

[pinescent-and-gingerbread]

Pineyyyyy,

I'm asking for the masses: please bless us with your writing process! How do you perfect these wonderful fics?

Thank you so much for asking Zae! 💞

As my writing process is a little chaotic and not very disciplined, I'll try to gather some advice and a rough timeline of what I do and how!

I think you'll already know most of those tips Zae, considering how incredible your writing already is! I hope this will still be helpful! Also forgive me because this is going to be long and detailed (I'm hopeless).

To everyone reading this, please keep in mind that I do not claim to have a perfect recipe for writing things that will make everything absolutely incredible (first of all, I do not think my work is perfect—far from it—and it's important for you that your writing process stays fun and comfortable!). This list is about things that work for me, but you have to find what works for you!!

NON-WRITING STUFF

Before writing: I love to set myself in the mood. As I don't have much free time my dedicated writing time has become a sort of sacred moment and I have my rituals (I put up the holy combo music+a good teapot of tea+Frankincense)

Music is a HUGE part of my writing process. As you and the amazing @/redwritr have already told me (thanks again both of you this is the best compliment ever<3), my writing sounds like music and I think this is also why. (Typical example for Fantasies II: I listened to Mother Mother's - "Body" in a loop to write the desperation moment. Maybe it's just me being too suggestible, but the pace and tone of a music piece totally guide me while writing).

I use Google Docs (on dark mode lol) to write, always. I know it's not super original and I regret not being able to put a nice background or typing sounds like ZenWriter allows you to for example, but it is the most convenient for me because I can carry my WIPs everywhere through my phone or laptop (plus it has the autosave, thinking about your writing curse LMAO).

THE WRITING ITSELF - what I do very factually and in what order.

I start by writing absolutely ANYTHING that comes through my mind, even if it's very shitty or doesn't make sense. Really, anything, no filter, just pure creative torrent flooding through my brain. Most of the time, I never publish the fic like this, it's purely to keep me motivated and to let ideas flow from my brain, otherwise they just don't want to appear. It's more difficult for me to find good ideas/work the flow of what's happening if I have to stop every two minutes and reflect on what I've done. I never correct my spelling at this point either and sometimes even leave words or bits of sentences in French lol. It must be spontaneous and wild.

I usually have the main ideas somewhere written on a note and new ideas are added between them as I write.

Once this draft is finished, I have the rough lines of what's happening and the different parts of the fic, and it's time for what I like to call the "Ripening" phase (yes I'm French ofc I'm using cheese/wine metaphors for my work lmaoo). Basically, I re-read the draft a LOT of times and focus on parts that seem odd/are not well written enough to my liking.

During that phase, I do a lot of research. I like to search for lexical fields, synonyms, original or uncommon words. I use Notion to organize links of all the website/Tumblr pages that I like for discovering vocab. I visit almost every time @/literaryvein-reblogs; their blog is a pure goldmine! (let me know if you want me to share some resources).

With this newly acquired vocab, I like to go for alliteration/assonance. I often replace words I had written during the spontaneous phase with new vocab words that simply sound better together. I also try out different versions of my metaphors and keep what feels better or what is the more telling/meaningful/simply more pleasant to read.

Once all this is finished, I always take the time to re-read the whole thing in one go, trying to step back and put myself as a reader. I often end up deleting parts that seem too long or not essential enough from fear of boring you guys. I think this is purely personal, you writers know what you really want to keep or not in your writing.

So basically that's what's happening: 1. Pure chaotic writing session where I let myself be wild and write nonsense 2. Ripening phase (sorting out the good from the horribly bad from the first phase, vocab, deleting or changing parts, trying out different words and figures of speech, sometimes re-writing whole paragraphs). This phase might be the longest actually. 3. Final reading in one time and last details before publishing.

INSPIRATION AND WRITING STYLE - Getting the pretty picture out of your brain!

I know it feels difficult to put exactly what's on your mind to paper, and sadly just like while painting/drawing, imo you can never reproduce EXACTLY what you see in your brain into a physical object. You can only approach this vision as best you can! Here's what works for me.

I always try to immerse myself completely in the setting; where are the characters, what mindest do they have in this moment, what is surrounding them?

Use the five senses, this is something I do almost systematically. Sight is the most used ofc, but smell and hearing are also ultra important to me. Touch and taste also are central, especially during smut. They help bring words to life!

Don't be afraid to describe a lot; this is important to get closer to what you're picturing and putting the same image in your reader's mind.

Now, this isn't a secret to anyone, my favorite tools are metaphors and comparisons + allegories when I'm good enough to find one. To me they are the best way you can explain to readers what the thing you're picturing is close to without having to factually describe every little detail of it; or how a character feels without being too obvious.

(This is a personal preference of mine. You have to find figures of speech that feels natural and good to you, that you like reading and writing!)

Read. Reading books, poems, other people's fics, and listening to songs and their lyrics are imo the best things you can do to nourish your own writing. We're social animals; a brilliant idea may spontaneously appear from nowhere in one's head but 99% of the time it's from discovering others that your writing style will be refined and perfected (identifying what you like/don't, why you're particularly in awe of a specific sentence or particularly attracted to certain types of phrasing without trying to copy/paste the thing is the way to go)

Be curious! Inspiration also comes from anywhere; go to museums, watch movies, go take a walk in nature, really let yourself be filled with all types of art and information. I use a notebook and my phone to note random things that I see or hear that gives me a sort of "inspiration potential".

e.g: I broke a match trying to light up a candle once. Completely banal and forgettable event. Well, it ended up being a comparison for a wasted potential in Through My Eyes. Yes, the notebook is flooded with random things I probably will never use, but this is also a good way to stay open and receptive to little things around you that can inspire you.

The "show don't tell" technique, as in cinematography is a pretty difficult balance to find but is really efficient to get people interested without offering them obvious things on a golden platter, and I personally love it. Here, here, and here (symptoms and afflictions method) are some more resources!

CONCLUSION AND FINAL ADVICE

As I already said, this is what works for me! You have to find what does for you and always remember to have fun! I know it might sound weird but most of my writing process is spontaneous and words just flow "naturally" out of me most of the time, so I don't really know how to explain things clearly (sorry about that :/)

ALSO your writing takes the time it needs and it's no one else's business!!!

As you can see, my drafts in perpetual change; it's totally fine not to write the perfect fic in one go! Don't be afraid to re-write and change things as many time as you want! (I honestly think I have to stop myself from reading my works because even now after publishing, I would still be changing things!)

Never ever put pressure on yourself while writing, this must not be a source of negative emotions (this goes for writer's block too, everyone has been through it, and you should not feel bad for it!)

The most important thing is for you to try! Try different styles, and different settings, try to get interested in new stuff even if it's not your usual medium. Always be curious!

And for my fellows non-English natives, try to use Grammarly to check your grammar and spelling, WordReference to check for translations/meanings, and DeepL instead of Google's translator!

Here, I think I'm finally done! Sorry it was that long, I hope I could help you Zae, and bring you guys some useful advice! As always, take care, and have fun writing!

-Pine 🌱

[maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal]

PLEASE DONT IGNORE AND DO NOT SCROLL BY

@rabahmoins7 needs your help!! Their father’s life is in DANGER. Their father has cancer and needs treatment, but they do not have enough money and the cost of treatment is so high, $500, ITS $500

PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP THEM OUT! SHARE AND DONATE IF POSSIBLE!

REMNDER: EVEN $10 CAN HELP!! SO IF YOU CAN DONATE, THEN DO NOT HESITATE. ACTUALLY PLEASE HELP

Their gofundme link: https://gofund.me/975686fc

DO NOT IGNORE THIS. PLEASE HELP AND SAVE THEM AND THEIR FATHER’S LIFE

[i-write-comics-not-screenplays]

Tip for Comic Artists+Writers

(If you don't do this already!)

Draw in ballpoint pen. In a notebook.

If you're like me and you struggle to plan your script in a word processor, or you struggle to "storyboard" or even sketch in a digital art program for your comic...

Don't do that part! At least, not yet anyway!

Scribble and sketch and doodle your characters, and their lines of dialogue, wherever you want on a piece of notebook paper, with a ballpoint ink pen. You can try and figure out the comic panel configuration of a page if you want to do that, but otherwise I recommend you don't do any panel-planning yet... in order to not limit yourself to a single page in the story. Draw the first and last scene in the same page, or only draw the witty one lines you had in your head that made you want to make this comic!

The benefit: there's no pressure to get it perfect!

Don't like how you drew the hands? Well scribble it out, or ignore it; it's not the final draft by any means. You're just getting the idea on paper so you can visualize it! It's the best way to practice what emotions you're trying to convey, or the positions of the characters, without worrying about if it's "good" or not. It gives you the freedom to make mistakes, so you aren't paralyzed by the possibility of making those mistakes and the trouble of having to edit them.

You can use a sketchbook or a pencil, but for me, this defeats the purpose of letting myself experiment and make mistakes with the art/dialogue. You get visual representation of what you want to work on (scribbled out hands tells me, "be sure to practice hands and gestures!"; Stricken out dialogue lines tells me, "yep that's not how I want him to say it. Maybe I should practice a few different variations of that line?")

Their faces can look wonky, their word bubbles can be poorly placed, and the dialogue can be absolute "cringe"... and guess what? It doesn't matter because first of all, it's hilarious what you can come up with when you let loose, but second and most importantly, you're getting your ideas down in writing and on paper!!!

--additional note: it gives you so much for you to reference from as well. I recommend letting the notebook be your central spot for experiments, concepts, story ideas, notes, reminders, and important details for your story/comic/graphic novel so it becomes a personal reference guide for you (and maybe somewhat of an encyclopaedia?) :)

I hope this is helpful - it has been for me!

[p0et-is-my-persona]

I really want to make characters in an ancient Greek setting. The only thing is I don’t know how to compose a name of that nature.

I would like to make a name.

[mariocki]

Lalla Ward makes a brief appearance as Lady Augusta, intended bride to an ill-fated aristocrat, in A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Ash Tree (BBC, 1975)

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

banging my head against the wall while i say: "relatability is not the be all end all of writing a character. saying that you don't find a character relatable/you wouldn't have made the same choices does not mean something is poorly written. you actually should go out of your way to engage with media about people who are fundamentally different from you because it helps you learn about others."

[uhbasicallyjustmilex]

can someone please banish this writer's block for me 😫

it's the worst i've had in such a long time and i've tried to be patient with it but it's been fucking weeks now. i want to write so much but whenever i try they just feel like words on a page. every evening i sit down and rearrange them a little here and there and add some new ones, but they all just feel empty and and shit and my brain feels totally devoid of the creative spark i need to make everything come to life.

i know in large part it's my perfectionism getting in the way, but i don't know how to break through it. i don't know how to feel connected to my writing again. i don't know how to shift this fear of not being good enough that surges up every time i pick up a pen.

it's something that's always been there - but usually it at least comes in waves, or my love of what i'm creating is big enough to muffle it. right now, it's all i can hear. my inspiration has been totally drowned out by it. and i hate it so, so much. the fact that i can't access the one thing that brings me the kind of solace and joy and escapism i can't get anywhere else and is so vital to my soul. that i am blocking myself from engaging in the one thing that makes me feel like me.

i just feel so stuck and so lost and i miss being in that creative headspace so much it’s like a physical pain. it feels like part of me is missing, and it terrifies me that i don't know how to get it back.