#also please don't follow my exact ritual because holy fuck you will nto get enough sleep

[luci-cunt]

hi im super sorry to bother you! but i was wondering if you had any writing tips? im like really bad at writing, like fleshing out ideas and then building on them? and i see your writing and im always amazed because everything is so put together!! also there's no pressure to answer this if you dont want to! 😊

asjfd;lsakdj why are all nonnies so worried about annoying me?? I love you guys??? especially when you say shit like thsi??? my brain is leaking out my ears aldskjf;lasdkj <3333

also: jasl;dkfjasd oh my god you think my writing is put together?? aslkdfj;asldkjf <333 ajsd;fasjdlfkjaljdf

This got a little away from me so here’s a TL;DR:

Hoard your writing

Realize it probably doesn’t look as bad as you think it does

GET INTO YOUR WORLD!

Characters make worlds

You’re your own carpenter and other peoples writing strategies probably won’t 100% work for you

Writing’s kinda like acting well: get in your characters heads! (and I mean ALL of your characters--even your villains. ESPECIALLY your villains)

My writing process is a mess don’t follow it XD

WRITE

I think one of my favorite pieces of advice is the fact that creators are ruined by all the answers XD. Like, idk if that makes sense but basically: as the author/ artist/ creator you see everything that goes into making your work work which means you can’t really ever know what the polished piece looks like.

I mean, if you want visuals being a creator is only seeing the back of your cross stitch, while your readers/ consumers only see the front final image.

(this wonderful Elizabeth Cady Stanton found here is a great example but Tumblr is being stupid and won’t let me post it in the actual answer XD)

To us, it’ll always look a bit unfinished or wonky, because we know just about all the details!!

The point I’m trying to go for is that: as the creator you can’t really know whether or not your work makes sense or is “put together” it’s why I love getting feedback so much--I’m an addict. For one: it’s hugely encouraging to get compliments and reactions (+ a nice boost to the ego ;) XD) but, at least for me, I’m always terrified nothing in my stories makes sense!

Having aid that, fleshing out details/ building on them is still important and I think it’s one of the most important things about writing. I’m assuming you’re meaning just general ideas, in which case--write it down. al;ksdjfajk I know that seems obvious but at least for me I write everything down OBSESSIVELY, and I delete NOTHING. I have a whole doc where I copy paste sections that I want to remove just so I have all of it, becuase you never know when it might make sense later or come back to you!

I guess what I’m trying to say is--HOARD YOUR WRITING!!! Even the stuff that’s cringy and stupid and kind of makes you wanna throw up because oh my god did I really write liek that??? One of the first things I ever wrote was basically a rewrite of this one youtube minecraft series I liked, I think I was like 12 and it was cheesy and all over the place and just utter garbage nonsense. Everytime I look at it I cringe because oh GOD, but I kept that shit! BUT! One of the side characters was a stroke of accidental genius and I’ve been trying to replicate it since! XD

K I got a little away from myself but also: building and fleshing out ideas is...... a unique process. It’s not like physically building something, because at least with that there’s specific ways to go about doing it, but it’s more like.... idk taking pieces from other people until you get the strategy you want.

I’m a dumbass with ADHD so my strategy is the Jack Karouac. He was a classic american author known for his book “On the Road” which he famously wrote all in one 3-week sitting. He used a roll of ticker paper so he didn’t have to change it on his type writer and just wrote.

When I get an idea I sit down and just write everything out, my strategy is usually to frame it like I’m writing a letter to someone--YES snarky commentary included! XD--it just helps flow things.

So say I have an idea for a story, first I write an into something kinda stupid like “Ok I just came up with this like four seconds ago and now I need to write it out” and then I start with the most vivid details and go from there. Usually that means characters, I’ll describe them only as they pop up in my head (sometimes this means everything from name down to the way they tie their shoelaces and sometimes it’s just ‘best friend of mc’), then I work my way out from there, asking questions and writing the plot out.

Questions are worldbuilding things like “is this world like earth? is it in this time period? if it isn’t what time period? why that time period? this persons job is x, why? when did boy-next-door move in? why is there that scar on her face?” and usually while this is happening I’ll come up with little dialogue snippets that I just dump into a “Snippets” pile XD. Again--those are sometimes full pages of scenes I’m thinking of, or just dialogue bits I want to use or just more character quirks.

Once I’ve done that I drop it all and leave. Go for a run or a walk or make some food or whatever and DO NOT touch it or even THINK about it for at least a day. Then, come back and read over what you’ve got and fidget with it until you’ve got something at least resembling a story XD.

K wow this got long but lastly: Characters make worlds! If you’ve got kinda iffy world building or a plot you’re not very happy with, as long as the characters are enjoyable and real people will like it. Idk if you’ve read the All For the Game series but the world building is GARBAGE. lakjdsf;klj that’s not an exaggeration: a kids dad is a mob boss who works for the Japanese Yakuza who also run a fictional sport called Exy and regularly torture/ brainwash people. That’s just wild right there--BUT people adore it because the Characters are interesting and real.

Another example is the Green Creek series: I love those books to death but I stg Klune just recycles the same plot/ character drama every book and I STILL go back and reread them because the CHARACTERS!! And a LOT of people love those books despite the fact that they’re all basically the same.

Characters. Make. the. Story.

Idk, maybe I put too much weight on characters and I don’t know what I’m talking about, but--at least for me--I put the MOST effort into making my characters real and something people will be interested by and hopefully connect with, and I think it works out ok XD

Sorry this is rambly and long, I like talking. :) I hope this helped!!! Maybe?? ajs;dflajk

#luci doesn't shut up #wow this really got away from me sorry lkasjdf;laskdj #I hope this helps??? #you're wonderful!! keep writing you're amazing!! #writing advice #also please don't follow my exact ritual because holy fuck you will nto get enough sleep