#writer's corner

[baggebythesea]

I'm working on Bagge's guide to writing. This is what I got so far.

Know yourself. Everyone writes differently, and everyone has different needs they need to figure out. That goes for how you interact with the rest of the list as well. If a tip is not for you, then don't follow it.

One single damned sentence! Write something every day. One sentence is enough, but writing one sentence will put the story back in your mind, you will pull up the document and find out where you stopped. More often than not one sentence will lead to more, but one is enough.

Celebrate your victories. If all you have written is one sentence, then you should be proud that you did write that sentence. If all you did was thinking about your story, that counts too.

Think forward. When you get to a natural end point (end of scene, end of chapter), write one more sentence, staring the next part, before you end your writing session. That way, you will think of what to write rather than what you have written.

Be careful with editing while writing. Sometimes it's good to catch a pesky spelling mistake, but most of the time you want to keep the flow.

Words on paper! The most important task with the first draft is to get the first draft done. You can fix whatever bugs you in the editing stage, but you want to move on from having only a blank page to work with.

Brackets. If you get stuck on the technical terms for a certain piece of clothing, spelling or how to resolve a certain [something] then, put it in brackets and move on. Sometimes my writing looks like "X said [something sexy] and Y blushed. [Stuff happened]. "Let's do [something more sexy]!" Y said." Keep your flow.

Take micro breaks. If you get stuck, leave the writing space for ten seconds before you continue writing. Sometimes that's all it take

BACKUPS!

When writing a longer story, treat the first chapters as "draft 0.5". You will probably have to rework them once you find your stride with the story properly and figure out all those little details you simply don't know while writing the beginning. That's OK, as long as you make it part of your writing process.

Figure out what's stopping you from telling your story and work on that. Two cakes? Do it scared? Whatever works for you.

What's your favourite writing tips?

[rarijackistheshit]

The will and urge to write is strong, but I don’t really have any ideas.

"Write from the pov yourself is currently in" works sometimes but I don’t THINK the world wants to read "Catra goes to the bathroom."

[storiesbyjes2g]

Hey writers...

QOTD for you!

After you have edited your WIP to death, how do you know when it's done and ready to post? Do you have a process/signal/feeling/etc.?

For me, I know it's done when I can't read it anymore. It's almost like my brain rejects it and says, "ENOUGH ALREADY!" When this happens, I feel like I can't focus, and my eyes are just scanning the lines, looking at the words but not taking them in. Eventually I just give up lol.

Before I figured out what that was, I used to get so frustrated with myself and say all kinds of mean things like I was being lazy and wasn't dedicated to the process. But every time I came back to read the next day, I'd be like, oh...this is kinda good...I guess I'm done lol. The last time I caught myself being unkind and trying to force myself to edit a finished work, I literally yelled, "STOP!! Just stop! It's done!!" So I stopped, and went to bed. Now I know when enough is enough.

[sshivangeee]

Why are you always so insistent

on bidding your goodbyes

even when they’re halfway

outside the door

Why do you wish them safe travels

when they’re already on the road

When their journey is only a half hour drive

back home,

why must you call behind them

“be back soon, bring me something new”

but never just a simple “bye, see you soon”

And when you know that they’re actually

going away from you, to a new home

why can’t you stop yourself

from saying “enjoy, take care”

when you o’ so clearly know

that they don’t care anymore

What is it that you fear loosing

Or rather who was it?

Who went without bidding you farewell

Who did you want should’ve stayed

but didn’t

You’re so scared of foreshadowing

something awful, I see it

You over step the fences

of your own house

like a little thief

just so there’s no room

for regrets in the future

Whose return are you still counting on

For whom did you stood waiting

eagerly hours in the balcony,

just to rush down to the street

the moment you hear

a familiar honk

Those eyes still reflect the beams

of those headlights, the ones

you could see from the t turn

That impatience, that restlessness

the moment the sun sets,

that found a permanent

abode in you, didn’t it?

Why else would there be

so much urgency

in your words

when you say “take care”

after ending the most

horrendous conversations

You compel me to wonder

Is it really that important

to always end things on a good note?

(it is.)

[cmoroneybooks]

A very simple breakdown of the editing process.

Personal edits by the author. These are the edits you undertake after you finish the first draft. 

Manuscript critique/swap/alpha read. This is where you exchange the text with your writing buddy for a first opinion that doesn't come from family or non-writing friends. It's not recommended to use friends you made outside the writing community because a lifelong best friend who also becomes a writer later in life will still have the bias problem. Once you get these notes back you make another edit. As I have said before you can pay someone to provide this service but I do not recommend it. Find a friend who writes and reads your genre and commit to reading each other’s manuscripts and providing thoughtful commentary. 

Developmental edit. The actual content of the story is deeply edited by a professional editor. Characterisation, pacing, story structure, worldbuilding, genre elements, plot. They do not make direct changes to your manuscript but offer extremely detailed notes including in-text commentary and what is essentially an essay about your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses. You will usually have several conversations with them regarding their notes. After this you will do another edit based on notes. With a traditional publisher you will resubmit this edit for further notes, as a self-publisher you do not need editoral approval to get published so will not resubmit to your editor. You may choose to do further rounds with them, however. It would be a severe disservice to your book to skip this edit or not hire a professional. 

Beta read. 3-5 readers of the genre you're publishing in give feedback. Professional beta readers exist and I do think they’re a great service BUT you don’t want to use only professional beta readers. The majority should just be fans of the genre signing on to beta read for free books and/or in exchange for you beta reading their manuscript. I personally do 5 beta readers, 2 swaps, 1 paid professional, and 2 fantasy readers offering out of the goodness of their hearts. If you are tight on money this is a step you should NOT pay for. 

Line edit. This edit is the only one that is truly optional. Many publishing houses do not bother with this specific edit. IMPORTANT: you will often see copy editing and line editing used as if they are two terms for the same thing. A line edit is an edit for the quality of your prose not spelling and grammar. A spelling and grammar edit is not optional. A line edit will edit for the reading flow of your story on a sentence level. Genre fiction authors can safely skip this step, I would be more hesitant to make that recommendation to a literary fiction author, however. Don’t bother with a line edit if you’re not going to hire a professional to do it. 

Copy edit. Spelling and grammar primarily but this edit also tracks consistency (if a character’s eyes change colour for instance) and may make commentary on prose. It will not be the line by line perfection of a true line edit but clunky sentences that don’t make sense will be pointed out to you. This is another edit I really recommend seeking a professional for. 

Proofread. A final check for spelling, grammar, and consistency. The final read before publication. A professional is the best choice for this but there is room to save money here IF you know someone whose grammar is bang on. I’m talking Dad’s an English teacher not friend is an online grammar nazi. 99% of people who think they’re good at grammar believe this because they don’t make common mistakes such as there/their/they’re. Most people don’t know what the fuck they’re doing with commas and you don’t want to trust them to catch a rogue comma your copy editor missed. 

[ladylucksrogue]

This may sound silly bit I've just discovered discord.

Back in the day, I used to be part of another (now dead) fandom's writing group, where we used to host writing events and chat and generally chat and obsess over our favorite ships. I really miss that sometimes, I haven't really found anything comparable since, and definitely not for Star Wars.

So no pressure to the few mutuals I have, or anyone on my page that's interested, I've created a link. If you'd like, feel free to join :)

[ilariyalavorowrites]

This is me right now after plotting about a new fandom for the last few days

[arijensineink]

書きました！

Forgot to update but I got EVERYTHING on my to-do list from yesterday DONEEEE!!!! Honestly there is something magical about when I put it on Tumblr, which is truly ironic, because once upon a time had a destructive addiction to this website! Haha!

Anyway today I had an awesome VC with my discord server and afterwards typed up a story I wrote a couple months ago. All in all a reasonable evening!

Also got another new newsletter subscriber today which is very o m g for me そ if you're reading this thank you so muchhhh<33333

Here's the link if you're interested > Common Ink

How was everyone's Friday? Got any big weekend writing plans? I sure do hella man I've got so much writing to do its insane.

[poetry-with-alisha]

Today, I welcomed a blessing with a heart full of love.

I exchanged laughter with children today, seven year olds. It felt as if God had surrounded me with so many tiny fragments of his huge heart, as a reward for I don't know what. I felt it in their gorgeous smiles, their really small hands, the tone they spoke in, the way they spoke to me, the childish aspect of their voices, the innocence that painted their faces, the love that pervaded their voices when they said, "Thank you didi" because I gave them flowers.

I had flowers I had plucked earlier from the side of the school's park, a small bouquet of wildflowers, actually, in yellow, light pink, dark pink, white, another yellow.

I planned on giving it to my mother if it stayed fresh till I got home. I couldn't :(

I asked a girl which flower she wanted.

"White!" she said.

Her eyes lit up as she eyed the white wildflower in my fingers.

I handed it over and the "Thank you didi!" she enthusiastically exclaimed with, melted me into a pool of lively happiness.

I sat with the kids for fifteen minutes and believe me when I say that I felt so alive, so surrounded by love, innocence and purity, after so long, i mean the worst thing they had ever done was having chewing gum, they said.

Their energies were so contagious. My heart was full of ectasy long after they went back to classes.

I sat in MY class, smiling.

Before we went our own ways, the kids bid me goodbye, not a mundane one, but a yell.

Standing a metre away, they saw me and my friends leaving and they waved their hands with an energy I didn't know I was worthy of.

It was absolutely golden- the life l lived in those fifteen minutes, gorgeously golden, and full of sunshiney little souls I love so much.

Me and my friends left, picking flowers on the way because yes, we're obsessed, and I walked around with a magnificient magenta wildflower in my long brown braided hair for the rest of the day.

[starfa11]

Thunderstorms and Espresso

Imagine sitting cooped up in a room, a little coffee shop with them. Cheeks heating up hotter than the espresso being made by the barista behind the counter as they stared like they were taking in every one of your features, but really they were just wondering why you were avoiding eye contact so hard. The entire place reeked of nostalgia and coffee, smelling of old memories and forgotten wishes, all the while the clicking of nails on keyboards and the drifting chatter filled the room, making the quiet less unbearable, if only because the minute they looked away, you were given the excuse to scan their features for a friend you'd yet to make. When they spoke, it was like the soft click of a needle on a record, something falling right into place at the perfect time to elicit a sound unlike anything you'd ever heard, something that made your heart want to give itself to them, because they were right there, the thunderstorms in your head screaming louder than the milk steamer behind the counter, aching for the connection that you felt, that they didn't, or so you thought. They couldn't help but stare at the planes of your face, their fingers aching to run over the skin, the bumps and pores, and the beauty of it all. It just wasn't fair to them how people preached of imperfections and here you were, the most beautiful thing they'd ever seen, so imperfectly wonderful, such a beautiful imperfection that they couldn't help but crave to feel like the thunderstorms inside their heart was matching the ones in your head, unbeknownst to either soul, both with eyes like lightning and vinyl voices.

[joinourbookclub]

First Creative Writing Exercise!!

Task: Write a story with the ending, "He turned to me and said, 'You're next'".

Time brainstorming: 10 minutes

Time writing: 30 minutes

-------------------------------

Give me a second to make sense of things. I thought I had it figured out, but evidently I was wrong. Very wrong. So let’s start back at the beginning. 

I just transferred to Springfield High in my sophomore year and I wasn’t happy about it. I had a whole other life in another city and just like that, it was gone. I was alone for the first time. That is until I met Julia. She was the girl everyone loved. She was the exact type to bully the new kid out of the school before they even had a chance to be known. But she was kind to me. She said I was pretty enough to join her group. She became my best friend, and I would do anything for her.

I joined the cheerleading squad with Julia and her other friends, Megan and Jennifer. I was never the athletic type, but they helped me out on the weekends. Luckily for me I was one of the tallest girls, so I served as a base for our pyramids instead of having to do tricks. I soon became recognized at my new school. More than I had ever been at my old one, but something just felt…wrong.

Sometimes it felt like I had to be a different person. Julia adored me, but to stay in her graces I had to talk about cute boys all throughout lunch. Which was awkward since we always sat with Jayce, Julia’s boyfriend. He never said anything about it, but maybe he was just acting like me. I knew that Jayce was different when we weren’t around. Julia told me so herself. She buried her head in my neck at a party. Whispering to me all of the things he said to her. Cruel things, like he thought she was eating too much or that her friends were all fake. He wasn’t wrong about the fake friends, but he wasn’t right either. I was the one Julia came to in a rare moment of vulnerability. I would never leave her. That is until she left me.

It seemed inconsequential at first. Julia didn’t show up to school one day. It made sense. She skipped sometimes when we had tests, but she didn’t show up the next day either. Or the next. After a week, Megan, Jennifer and I began to become worried. We asked Jayce if he knew anything. He didn’t. I told the other girls about the things he said to Julia, and we began to slowly distance ourselves from him.

Even with the other girls by my side, I felt lost without Julia. She was the one who brought me into this new school world and taught me who to be. More than anything I missed her. Then disaster struck again.

A month after Julia disappeared, Jennifer also went missing. Now I wasn’t just worried. I was angry that someone had the nerve to target my friends. The police hadn’t figured out anything, so I was going to. I just needed to figure out where to start.

I didn’t tell Megan about my plans. She would think I was being weird. We kept cheering together, as if everything was normal, but one day after class had ended I sought out the only person I thought could help.

His name was Derek. He was the type of boy Julia taught me to roll my eyes at, but he was still someone I noticed. He was incredibly smart, getting the best scores in our classes. He was in a computer club after school. I figured he knew how to hack. My plan was to hack into Julia’s social medias to trace her. If that didn’t work, then I wanted him to go through Jayce’s phone. The police might have found him innocent, but I knew more about Jayce than the police did.

When I entered the computer club, there were only three students there. Of course, who would stay after school when they have a computer at home? Luckily, I saw Derek. I went over and tapped his shoulder.

“Can we talk?” I asked.

Derek nodded and we left the room together. His friends were all watching us, making me slightly embarrassed.

I cracked down the situation for him. At first, Derek didn’t want to help. I was someone who wasn’t so nice to him after all. But I let him see how broken I was and he changed his mind. Derek began letting me into the computer club during lunch hours so I could watch him pick apart Julia’s instagram page. I should have let him do it alone. I should have spent more lunch time with Megan because she went missing too.

Then it was just me and Derek. He found nothing on any of my friends’ instagram pages and went on to cracking into Jayce’s phone. I had a part in this operation. I had to install a spying app onto Jayce’s phone by taking it when I saw him leave in class to go to the bathroom. 

“Are you sure he won’t know about the app?” I asked Derek hesitantly.

He made sure I knew that he coded the app himself, so he was certain Jayce wouldn’t notice.

Our search went on for a few more weeks until we finally found something. Jayce had suspicious messages sent between him and his friends about Julia. The messages were recent and completely unremorseful. He said Julia never listened to him and she deserved the lesson she was being taught. 

I excitedly turned to Derek. “Did you see that?! We finally have something!”

He turned to me and said, “You’re next.”

[baggebythesea]

And just like cats, if loners get too aggressive in the "I wanna be alone" direction they can end up driving off those new friends and then regretting it.

DUDE!

The use of Catra and Scorpia as example for this point was just brutal.

Trope talks over at "Overly sarcastic productions" is one of my very favourite writer's channels, both because of the great analysis of tropes in popular culture and for the chipper motor mouth narration.

[storiesbyjes2g]

Hey guys! I'm back again with another fake podcast (excuse my late night tired voice lol). This series is dedicated to everyone who's ever asked me a question about rotations! I hope it helps. Enjoy!

[sshivangeee]

You're my purple i said

she smiled a little, but

laughed it off and said

"it's violet you fool

those are two very different colours"

oh! how she knew what I meant

and how bad I was at it,

colours, their place in the spectrum

and which depicted what human emotion

She wanted me to further explain myself

from what I had gathered about her,

she had come to love my word play

tried finding the hidden meanings

ones that even i'd usually forget

But this time I was all lost,

her laugh ringing through my ears

got me all flustered

With a racing heart

i said what felt the truest,

"mixing blue with red

gives you purple"

and well what could she say

whether or not it made sense to her

I'd never know....

She just simply smiled

a hint of understanding gleaming in those seamless eyes

oh! those eyes, if purple was an emotion

i think that is what I saw in them.......

[cmoroneybooks]

Anxiety is so interesting as an author because it is somehow impossible to write a character who isn't also anxious.

My editor: why is she so worried? She seems capable and there's no reason to assume anything will go wrong.

Me, baffled: this is the normal amount of worried to be.