Alex D. Yanakis

Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.

You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!

It’s SO easy!

You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!

Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!

There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!

As part of the Mass Effect Relationships Week, or #MERweek, being held by @cactuarkitty to celebrate all relationships within the original Mass Effect trilogy and Andromeda (all kinds of relationships - romantic, platonic, friendships, bromances, familial, enemies, frenemies, working relationships etc.) I was asked once again to put together a fun set of optional fic prompts for writers to have some fun with.

The week runs from  July 1st to July 7th and is for both the original Mass Effect trilogy AND Andromeda. Remember, these prompts are all optional - so have fun with them! :)

As always please be sensible and sensitive when writing fics - tag for appropriate triggers and follow all of the main MERweek event rules on @cactuarkitty‘s blog.

The Prompts

Day 1: Tall Tales 

All relationships have those stories. You know the ones. Those famous stories. The good ones. Like the time Shepard took down the reaper on foot. Or Kaidan got involved in the Vorcha mafia. Or the time Vega got drunk and kissed Steve. What? It happened. It totally happened.

Day 2: A Night on the Town

A lot can happen late at night. Maybe Down a dark alley … or maybe in a bar. Enemies can meet for that final fight. Friends can have hilarious adventures. And lovers can do what they do best! 

Day 3: A Friend in Need

You can take this prompt where you want to. A genuine plea for help on the battlefield, a moment of kindness in which one person realizes how much they love the other. Go nuts.

Day 4: Gifts

What monster doesn’t like getting a present? But who knows what’s inside of that box, and what it might lead to …

Day 5: Extreme Emotions

Write about a moment when emotions between your characters became a little extreme. Did their relationship become stressed? Did things get hot? Did loves almost break up? Drama, angst, smut, fluff - everything is on the table!

Day 6: Confessions / Secrets

Relationships are all about confessions … or the things we don’t confess. Go on - tell me a little story about your characters deepest darkest secrets.

Day 7: Real World AU

Let’s have some fun for our final day! Time to drop your characters into an alternate universe story set in the real world. Hey - it’s all optional. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to! ;)

Learn how to take planned breaks 

Plan reward when you reach your goals

If goals are time framed based, make sure they’re realistic.  Nothing is more discouraging then thinking you’re failing

Engage with other writers who are positive and excited about their work. 

Read books in your genre of passion. Remind yourself why you’re writing one!

Have more than one project to jump to if one starts to get stuck. 

Make writing time special, with snacks, music, candles - things you ONLY let yourself have during writing time. 

If your schedule allows, try writing at the same time every day. If its a habit, you won’t drag your feet as much. 

Talk to other writers! Tell them why you write! Even if you just scream it into the void that is Tumblr, writing it down and putting it into words is a powerful reminder of why you want to complete this project. 

they make you uncomfortable

they interact with someone you’re uncomfortable with

you’ve lost interest in their content

you want to.

reasons it’s okay to try and guilt people for unfollowing you:

there are none.

nobody has to follow you,   they can stop at any point if that will make them more comfortable or their hobby more enjoyable.   people do not owe you continuing to follow your blog or an explanation if they choose to stop for whatever personal reason they may have  (especially if you’re only passing acquaintances but even if you’re friends).   i could be sad and confused about someone unfollowing / soft-blocking me,   and that doesn’t mean they’ve done anything wrong or owe me a reason to justify their choice.   you’re never obliged to interact with me,  and it would never be okay for me to coerce you into it.   as a community we preach self care and treating people with respect but then try to interfere with or punish people for taking care of themselves.

first drafts are for making it exist

second drafts are for making it functional

It’s the first draft. Use the word “suddenly.” Put as many dialogue tags and adverbs as you want. Say “he saw” “she remembered” “she felt” “they wondered” as many times as you need to. Put the em dash there, put in too many commas, use semi-colons with reckless abandon. Type in [whatever] instead of thinking up a title for something. Just write it. If you worry too much about the particulars, about all the advice posts you’ve seen saying whatever you’re doing is wrong or not good enough, you won’t get anything done. It will slow you down as you go back and try to reword what you just wrote to make it better, proper. The first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be done. And when you get to the end, you’ll find that all those “mistakes” are just clues for your future self to put together to make it all better.

Everyone struggles with this feeling.