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byoldervine · 1 month

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How To (Realistically) Make A Habit Of Writing

To clarify: Works with my autism. WORKS WITH MY AUTISM!!! I’ve been meeting my goals since I made them my New Year’s resolution! Anyway I’m so sick of all those ‘how to’ guides that don’t actually tell you what the process is they’re just like ‘just do it, but don’t burn yourself out, do what’s best for you!’ because you’re not telling me what I’m not supposed to be burning myself out over but okay, so I made my own. Hope this helps

1. Choose your fighter metric. What works better for you as a measurement of your progress; time spent writing or your word count? Personally I get very motivated and encouraged by seeing my word count go up and making a note of where it should be when I’m done, so I measure by that. At the same time, a lot of people are also very discouraged by their word count and it can negatively impact their motivation to write, and in that case you may be better off working from how much time you spend writing rather than where the word count is

2. Choose your starter Pokémon time frame. How often can you write before it starts to feel like a chore or a burden rather than something fun you look forward to? Many people believe that they have to write daily, but for some people this can do more harm than good. Maybe every two or three days? Weekly? Figure out what fits your schedule and go with it

3. Choose your funny third joke goal. Now that you’ve got your chosen time frame to complete your goal in, what’s a reasonable goal to aim to complete within that time frame based on the metric you chose? If your metric is your word count, how much can you reasonably and consistently write within your chosen time frame? If your metric is time spent writing, how much time can you reasonably and consistently spend writing within that time? Maybe 1000 words per week works, or maybe 10 minutes per day? The goal here is to find something that works for you and your own schedule without burning you out

4. Trial and error. Experiment with your new target and adapt it accordingly. Most people can’t consistently write 1667 words per day like you do in NaNoWriMo, so we want to avoid that and aim somewhere more reasonable. If you feel like it’s too much to do in such a short time frame, either give yourself less to do or more time to do it in. If you find yourself begrudgingly writing so often that it constantly feels more like a chore than something fun, maybe consider adapting things. And if you think that you gave yourself too much wiggle room and you could do more than this consistently, give yourself more of a challenge. Everything needs to suit you and your pace and needs

5. Run your own race. Don’t feel like you’re not accomplishing enough in comparison to others or not working fast enough to satisfy some arbitrary feeling of doubt. Everybody works at their own pace and slower work doesn’t mean worse work. You could be on one word per day and you’ll still see consistent results, which is still one word per day more than you could originally count on. All progress is progress, regardless of its speed

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saraswritingtipps · 10 months

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Ways to hit your readers in the gut

When it comes to writing, there's a profound and mesmerizing way to touch your readers deep within their souls. It's about crafting moments that hit them in the gut, stirring up intense emotions and forging an everlasting connection. Here are some techniques to help you achieve this:

1. Unexpected Loss: Introduce a character who captures hearts, only to snatch them away suddenly. Think of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, where the abrupt departure of beloved characters like Sirius Black and Fred Weasley leaves readers shattered, their grief a testament to the power of storytelling.

2. Sacrifice for a Cause: Show a character willingly sacrificing their own happiness or even their life for a greater purpose. Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games" portrays Katniss Everdeen's selflessness, volunteering as a tribute to save her sister, evoking empathy and admiration.

3. Unrequited Love: Explore the agony of unrequited love, where hearts ache and souls yearn. Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" delves into the bittersweet and heart-wrenching tale of Jane's unfulfilled affection for Mr. Rochester, resonating with readers who have experienced the profound depths of unrequited longing.

4. Betrayal by a Loved One: Peel back the layers of trust to reveal the sting of betrayal. George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series delivers shocking betrayals that shatter readers' expectations, leaving them stunned and heartbroken alongside the characters.

5. Overcoming Personal Demons: Illuminate the struggle against internal conflicts, be it addiction, guilt, or haunting trauma. Anthony Doerr's "All the Light We Cannot See" explores Werner's moral compass during wartime, captivating readers as they witness his battle for redemption and personal growth.

6. Injustice and Oppression: Shed light on the injustices characters endure, igniting empathy and inspiring change. Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" reveals the racial prejudice faced by Tom Robinson, awakening readers to the urgent need for justice and equality.

7. Parent-Child Relationships: Navigate the intricate tapestry of emotions between parents and children. Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" unearths the complexities of the father-son bond, evoking a myriad of feelings, from longing and regret to hope for reconciliation.

8. Final Farewells: Craft poignant scenes where characters bid farewell, whether due to death or separation. Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief" gifts readers with heartbreaking partings amidst the backdrop of World War II, leaving an indelible mark of loss and the fragile beauty of human connections.

9. Personal Transformation: Illuminate characters' growth through adversity, offering a beacon of hope and inspiration. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" narrates Ebenezer Scrooge's extraordinary journey from a bitter miser to a beacon of compassion, reminding readers that redemption and personal change are within reach.

10. Existential Questions: Delve into existential themes that provoke deep introspection. Albert Camus' "The Stranger" challenges readers to ponder the meaning of life through Meursault's detached and nihilistic worldview, prompting them to question their own existence.

With these techniques, you have the power to touch your readers' souls, leaving an indelible impression. Remember to weave these moments seamlessly into your narrative, allowing them to enrich your characters and themes. Let your words resonate and ignite emotions, for that is the essence of impactful storytelling.

#writing #writing tips #character development #writer on tumblr #writerscommunity #writer tumblr #writblr #writing advice #oc character #writing block #writing habits #writing help #writersociety #fanfic

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writers-potion · 1 month

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can you make a list of specific relationships tropes(platonic or romantic) pls🫶

List of Relationship Tropes <3

Hope this helps! :) If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram!

Romantic Relationship Tropes:

Friends-to-lovers

Enemies-to-lovers

Forbidden love (it can be an external or internal taboo)

Stuck together - 'trapped in an elevator'

Secret identity (billionaire/royal/celebrity in hiding)

Best friend's brother/sister/ex

Seconc chance romance

Soulmates (soulmate AU prompts)

Fake relationship

Wedding fever - runaway brides/best men/wedding planners/ jilted

Amnesia/mistaken identity

Holiday romances/flings

Opposites attract (similar to enemies to lovers)

Academic rivals (high school/ college)

Unrequited love

Sunny vs. Grumpy

Pen pals to lovers

Matchmaking gone wrong

Sworn off a relationship (then falling in love, of course)

Single parent with new love

Arranged marriage (Arranged Marriage Prompts)

Return to hometown & fall in love with your childhood friend

Bully turned out to be the nice guy

One person being afraid to commit + the other chasing them

Falling in love with someone from the past/future

Tiny guy, huge girl

Other Character Dynamic Tropes:

Badass and child duo (usually, the child will be extraordinarily mature/capable)

Battle couple (like Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes)

Blood brothers

Brother-sister team - bickering but working perfectly together

Intergenerational friends - being best buddies with your grandparents, which your parent doesn't understand

Translator buddy

Talker plus Doer duo

Student and Master team

'Sensitive guy + the most macho guy ever' duo

Rivals-to-friends

The Shy Guy/Girl + the outging wingman

The popular girl/guy + the copycat

Ride-or-Die found family

A childhood enemy becomes a central part of a friend group

Parents who see their kids become best friends too

Orphans from the same orphange

Long lost siblings finding themselves in each other

A straight girl + lesbian as bffs / a straight guy + gay guy as bffs, becoming each other's wingmen/women

a secret handshake or unique SOS sign that only they know

Girl code/bro code/friendship code

Having set routines, like meeting under ---- tree at --- hour

Family Tropes

Adoption angst

adult adoptee - an adult character is adopted into a different family despite being legally of age

Awkward parent-child bonding efforts

Babies ever after - the child is forever a baby to the parents

Black sheep/ugly duckling

Cannibal clan

Feminine mother, tomboyish daughter

Obnoxious in-laws

Twin Tropes

Angst surviving twin - on twin dies so that other becomes nervous

Single-minded twins - can have a creepy twist...

Evil twin

Playing their own twin

Twin telepathy - twins can pick up on each other's thoughts/emotions

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veryrealauthorthings · 1 month

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#writing #writing memes #writing life #writing community #author memes #writers on tumblr #author life #writers #meme #veryrealauthorthings #writing habits #kick me

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novlr · 9 months

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Is it bad that i only write ab 500-1000 words a day semi regularly? (like every 2 or 3 days) bc everyone seems to be writing 3k words at the min. and I've never written that much outside of an assignment.. should I be trying to write more words per day? I usually just get out whatever idea is stuck in my head and move on

There is absolutely nothing wrong with writing what you feel like, when you feel like it! Not every writer has the same time to write. Not every writer has the same ability to focus for the same length of time. Not every writer is even able to think of an idea and just get it written immediately! Some take warm-ups and prep work before they're able to put a single word to the page.

If your process works for you, then that's the process you should follow. The biggest threat to anyone's writing routine is comparison. If, when you sit down to write, you manage to write, and you do it regularly, then you've got a good writing habit formed that works for you, your routine, and your creative flow.

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nerdpoe · 6 months

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It's wild but like, if you've read homestuck you definitely view time and timelines and spacetime differently than people who have not read homestuck.

I don't know how to describe it, really?

It's not like I'm saying that "Homestuck is superior read it nowww" it's like. Reading fanfictions involving time travel, you just know who used to or still reads homestuck.

Like...a homestuck fan (or past fan it doesn't matter you just had to digest the comic at one point) is more likely to follow along when a Flash Comic goes hog-wild with timelines and multiverse.

That webcomic cracked our brains open to the concept of timefuckery to the point where it's leaked into how we write it, if we write it at all, and how we understand it if it's being read.

And I dunno where I was going with this, but I just think it's neat that one comic had that much impact on how an entire group of people thinks.

Other books and comics do this too, tbf, but the homestuck one popped out at me after reading like four time travel fix-its in a row, three of which were definitely written by people who have read homestuck. (i ain't gonna call y'all out some people don't wanna be associated w/ homestuck these days, given how the fandom was and can still be)

TLDR: if you used to be a homestuck fan we can still tell, you will never outrun homestuck, it's permeated how you write and understand the concepts around you.

#weh #personal #not raising homestuck above all other fandoms of course #just saying that if you've been exposed to the way of time manipulation in the comic #you just sort of latch onto it i guess?#and it shows #writing #writing habits

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blackrosesandwhump · 1 year

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Rose's Writing Tips #3: Word Lists

Another hack I use to get the words flowing is word lists.

It sounds simple, and it is, but it works, and I always end up writing something, even if it's short.

Here are the two steps:

Make a list of words off the top of your head. One trick I like to use is to start with a word and change one letter for each subsequent word. Example: hollow/follow/fallow/wallow/willow/pillow, etc.

Pick at least three words and write as much as you like (but at least a sentence) about each of them. You can also combine words into a prompt.

I just did this yesterday and ended up writing much more than I expected, which led to three new drafts of flash fiction that I intend to polish up.

Happy writing!

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springintoastory · 1 month

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April 1st is around the corner, and with it the launch of the Spring Into A Story Challenge! 🤩🤩

Whether you're looking for tips to prepare, or want to use this challenge as your starting point, here are ways to spring into a writing habit. 🌺✒️

Set up a ritual - Do a little something that serves as a switch in your brain to signal it's writing time. Your ritual could be lighting a candle, using a very specific mug to drink from, heading to the library, or settling down at a cafe (my favorite!).

Be consistent - For some of you, that might be putting time on the calendar. Every Thursday from 6-9 is writing time! For others, it might mean you open your document for 30 minutes every night between dinner and bed. Or that you dedicate your time on the train to typing on your phone's keyboard. Set up a time, daily, weekly or monthly, and keep it.

Bring a friend - Accountability can be a huge help in setting up a habit. Just like having a friend in your yoga class gets you there, having a writing buddy during your consistent write time will help you show up. Or hey! Follow the #SpringIntoAStory tag and make friends there.

Set reasonable goals - If the writing you want to do is daunting and looming over your shoulder, you might ignore it by never showing up at the keyboard. Instead, break things down. Have your goal be 10 min of writing. Or 500 words. Or half a page. Something you know won't scare you off.

Track your writing - Put writing on your to-do list app. Color a square in your bullet journal, or give yourself a little sticker on the calendar. Tracking your writing gives you a serotonin boost when you can make that mark, but also visualizes your habit. When I can see on my chart I've not written for three days, I'm more likely to write on the fourth.

Make it fun! - If you don't like it, you won't do it. So make sure you're having fun - be it sharing your work on Ao3, chatting with friends as take a writing break, or wearing a silly hat. You do you.

For those of who you already have a writing habit, how did you build it?

#springintoastory #spring into a story #writing advice #writing tips #writing #writing community #writing events #writeblr #writing for fun #writblr #creative writing #writing things #writing life #writing habits #author habits

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hippolotamus · 2 months

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oh, look, i’m putting the pining idiots in the kitchen again so they can have a Moment™️. raise your hand if you’re shocked.

#hippo rambles #writing habits #i’ve already put them to bed in this one #so far everything tracks!#aksjdf

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sarasa-cat · 6 months

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Healthy Sustainable Writing Habit November (#NoNaNo)

I am spending time this November on rebooting my fiction writing habit while also keeping other writing (my nonfiction) moving forward too.

These are my "rules," where rules just means "guidelines for keeping a certain mindset towards writing habits" at the front of my mind:

#NoNaNo Rules/Guidelines:

Set aside a period of time most days of the week for working on writing, aiming for 4 to 6 days per week.

Keep track of what I accomplish each day that I spend on writing

Keep track of the when I take days off and what I did instead on those days (rest/breaks are necessary --- I know this but I want to remind people of this fact, especially while NaNo rages on in the background, immediately after Inktober).

Work on anything that is writing related: original fiction and fan fiction (both of which I am trying to reboot), poetry, nonfiction, etc. It all counts. Open up any project and work on it.

ANYTHING that actively pushes a project forward counts as writing. This doesn't necessarily mean "writing more words in the manuscript."

A sampling of activities that "count":

Drafting a scene

Editing and rewriting a scene

Outlining or refining an outline

Writing a poem

Spending 15 minutes writing list of as many different character conflict I can think of --- ideas that might be useful for current or future fiction

Researching information for a story while actively taking notes and organizing those notes for future use

"Interviewing" a character with the hopes of better understanding something about them that sparks story ideas

Drawing maps of settings and making notes about that setting

Creating a moodboard for a character or a conflict or a setting and making notes about how that moodboard captures the feelings of that person, conflict, or place.

Read someone else's writing that I admire and actively pick apart what makes it work so well, and what techniques can I borrow for my own work. Make some notes and give it a quick go on my own writing (or my outlines, etc).

Doing *any* writing exercise that is merely designed to juice up one's creative writing skills

Grabbing a fanfiction prompt and banging out a short one-shot

As for nonfiction writing activities:

Outlining

Actively reading research/reference materials while taking notes that will drive future writing

Drafting some text

Editing and rewriting some text

Creating a mind-map to visualize connections between concepts

etc.

ALL I NEED TO DO EACH DAY IS:

A. Set aside time to do at least one writing activity for at least 20 minutes (more is great but 20 minutes is perfectly fine too) and then DO the activity.

B. Note on my calendar what I did.

C. When I take a day off during November, make a note on my calendar what I did to relax or what I did that was important for life.

The goal here is a healthy, sustainable writing habit that prioritizes ALL aspects of writing.

I'll use the tag #NoNaNo throughout this month to say what I have done.

Feel free to join in and use the same tag too! And feel free to reblog this post if it resonates with you. <3

@zenatness @stealthnoodle -- tagging you both given a recent convo on a post I made last week/weekend. ;)

#NoNaNo #writing #writing challenge #writing habits #writers on tumblr

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byoldervine · 1 month

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Writing Tip - What ‘Habit Over Motivation’ Actually Looks Like

We’ve all heard the writing advice that you can’t rely on motivation to get you through writing a book, sometimes you need to force yourself to do it and make a habit of it. And a lot of us will scoff at that or find it too restrictive or boring, it leaves us feeling like it’s a chore rather than a fun activity

As someone who only worked out what people actually mean by it recently, let me explain my take on it

You’re not always going to be inspired to write, you’re not always going to be motivated to write, but if you only write when you’re motivated it’s gonna take a crap ton of time - and writing anything to completion already takes donkey’s years as it is. Forming a habit is going to enable you to write consistently, and thus even unmotivated or uninspired progress is still made. Hence, sometimes you have to force yourself to write

But writing too much will make that habit impossible, or at least it becomes a chore and not a fun activity. You need to give yourself realistic goals to meet, even if it’s only something small. Write for ten minutes a day, write 500 words every week, any snail’s pace progress regardless of how insignificant it may seem. Something small enough that it doesn’t drain you but frequent enough that there’s still a habit being formed, there’s still consistency to it

I used to only write when I was inspired and motivated and could get myself to start writing, and even then the word count would be inconsistent. It could be weeks or even months between proper writing sessions. But now that I have a baseline for productivity, I have a baseline for consistent progress. And I’m only on 1K words a week! And if that doesn’t work, you can do less, or go by time spent writing if that’s a better metric for your writing style!

There’s no such thing as not enough progress when it comes to forming a consistent habit; if you can get at least one word per deadline (day, week, whatever) then that still counts as consistent progress

What everyone else seems to think of is “You must get this big amount of words written daily, think of it as eternal NaNoWriMo, if you miss even one day you’re a failure and you’ll never get the book done, SUFFER FOR YOUR ART!”

Just do what’s comfortable and it’ll be fine, no worries

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misted-buttercup-enjoyer · 9 days

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i find it funny when people are like "oh media literacy is dead" like bro have you read the Hays Code media literacy's been dead since the 1930s it's not that we're stupid we're just trying to resurrect it from the dead and having understandable difficulties

#media literacy #writeblr #hays code #queer coded villain #stuff like that #writing habits #film industry #book making #movie making #disney

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writerhellenemeyers · 4 months

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Is there anybody out there who would be interested in beta reading or editing? I'm hoping to complete a first draft soonishly and I'd like to get some help and feedback, so I can work toward my goal of publishing one of my many works this year. Please and thank!

#writers #writers on tumblr #writing #writing help #writing habits #writerscommunity

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sudharsanuniverse · 4 months

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Keep writing as a habit. It helps you to organize your thoughts. When your thoughts are systematised, you can easily find out the to-dos. By accomplishing the to-dos you will start to improve each day.

#writingforlife #creative writing #writing community #writinglove #writerslift #writing #writers and poets #writers of tumblr #writerscommunity #writing tips #writerslife #writers problems #writings #writing habits #bloggingcommunity #blog writing

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novlr · 1 year

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Just write

Write every day, even if it is only a word or two. Writing is like any other skill; it requires practice and discipline to improve.

By making a habit of writing every day, you'll develop your voice and hone your craft. Don't wait for the perfect idea — just write.

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bee-barnes-author · 8 months

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it's so interesting to see how my writing habits adjust to fall and winter as it comes. in spring and summer i write from 8am to noon or 1pm. i'll hit between 1.5k and 2k words. now in fall i find i'm starting to write closer to noon, and finishing around 4 or 5pm. i wonder if in winter i'll become an evening writer lol

#writing habits #writing #writeblr #novelist #journal #writers #writers on tumblr #writing community #horror #creative writing #writerscorner #writerscommunity

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