AlienatedSaturn aka Raymond

and what if Cleo tries to convince Pearl they're exactly the kind of monster Pearl hunts. they've killed people, dozens, maybe hundreds, maybe more than Owen did. but Pearl is adamant that Cleo is her family, she can't kill her family.

and what if Cleo keeps goading Pearl into attacking them. "if you won't kill me, i'll kill you first!" maybe they'll say a lot of hurtful things. maybe for the first time ever they take a swipe at Pearl. but sweet, kind, lovely Pearl sees right through them. "go on, Cleo. do it."

what if they both break down in tears because they couldnt do it

what if they both want to sacrifice themself for the other but neither wants to kill the other

Cleo, having never been able to make a choice

Cleo, who had to "farm" humans

Cleo, who had to obey because she was thralled as a child

Cleo, who had to do one more terrible thing (kill the doctor)

Cleo, who had to turn Pearl to set them free

✩ eats cereal with a fork “because the milk is the best part”

✩ never finishes a drink, always leaves like an inch at the bottom of the cup

✩ has a “lucky” pen that never actually works

✩ laughs at their own puns before anyone else gets them

✩ always forgets where they parked and insists “someone moved the car”

✩ sings the wrong lyrics on purpose just to annoy people

✩ collects way too many mugs despite only ever using one

✩ waves at dogs on the street but ignores the owners

✩ buys notebooks constantly, never finishes a single one

✩ swears they don’t like reality TV but can quote entire episodes

✩ can’t tell left from right without making the little “L” with their hand

✩ keeps all their movie ticket stubs in a jar

✩ insists on turning everything into a competition (yes, even parallel parking)

✩ absolutely terrible at lying, but still tries every single time

✩ has a weirdly strong opinion about which pasta shape is superior

✩ will stop dead in the middle of the sidewalk to look at the moon

✩ claims they hate group photos but secretly saves every one they’re in

✩ loses at board games but still acts like they won

We all hit those blah writing days. Your fingers are ready, your doc is open... and your brain goes static. That’s where writing exercises come in — small creative boosts to shake off the dust and get back into your story flow. Here are six to try when your words feel stuck in traffic.

1. The 5-Minute Word Sprint

Pick a random word (use a generator or close your eyes and point at a book), set a 5-minute timer, and write anything involving that word. No stopping, no deleting.

2. Dialogue Without Context

Write a short convo between two people. No descriptions. No setting. Just back-and-forth lines.

3. Rewrite a Scene in Another Genre

Take a scene from your current story and flip the genre. Drama becomes comedy. Fantasy becomes sci-fi. Romance becomes horror.

4. Describe a Place Using the Five Senses — No Sight Allowed

Can’t mention what anything looks like. Only sound, touch, smell, taste, and intuition.

5. Character Swap POVs

Write a paragraph from the POV of a side character reacting to your main character. Bonus if the POV is brutally honest or completely wrong.

6. One Line Story Hooks

Write 3 one-sentence story starters that make you want to keep writing. (Example: “I woke up married to my enemy, and worse — he knew it before I did.”)

listen. i’m not here to sell you a productivity system or convince you that waking up at 5am will make you a novelist. i am deeply Not That Girl. HOWEVER, here are 5 chaotic little writing habits that quietly rearranged my brain chemistry:

✏️ typing BEFORE i know what happens i used to think i had to outline everything before writing. wrong. i get more done when i let the scene surprise me. just start with vibes and a line of dialogue. the rest shows up once you start moving.

🗣️ saying the scene out loud like a play no joke. talking my scenes out like a script?? life-changing. the pacing, the emotion, the rhythm of it all makes more sense when i act like i’m gossiping about my blorbos in a voice memo.

⌛ 20-minute timers (not for productivity, just to start) i tell myself “just 20 minutes.” sometimes i stop. sometimes i blink and it’s 2 hours later and someone’s been emotionally eviscerated in chapter 12. this one’s black magic. use wisely.

🕯️ re-reading my WIP like a book no editing, no judging, just reading through with snacks like it’s already published. changes how i see the pacing and emotional arcs. also reminds me it doesn’t completely suck.

🧂 leaving in the messy parts i used to delete scenes that felt “off.” now i just write a little comment like “THIS IS BAD BUT KEEP GOING.” turns out momentum matters more than vibes. shocking, i know.

Act like you're being interviewed, and answer a bunch of questions about how you came up with your story.

Pick a character, and think through how they were first conceived. Then go through all their different variations until they reached where they are now.

MUSIC!!! What would your characters listen to? What's a story-driven/musical song with lyrics that fit your story? What is a song that would be in your story's trailer? Look at video game soundtracks for your character's theme. (I recommend Undertale/Deltarune for some classics, Sonic Mania for a more upbeat techy sound, and The Great Ace Attorney if you have a more fantasy setting.)

Think about how your MCs would hangout when there isn't an ominous plot point looming over them.

Try talking to your MC or villain out loud, and think of how they would respond. Don’t feel pressured to write it down, just say it out loud. Record a voice memo on your phone so you can save any banger lines you'd wanna reuse. (Bonus points if you give the character a specific voice.)

Find a color palette for your story.

PINTEREST!!! They have lots of quotes and photos that are good character inspiration. But Pinterest is especially useful if you're like me and can’t draw for shit. (or just taking a break from drawing.) It's fun to be able to visualize your characters and settings, and gives you a better understanding.

Watch a show/movie or read a book that has a similar vibe as your story! Sometimes all you need is to see a finished product to be reminded that you have something special.

Talk your story out with a trusted friend or fellow writer. This often helps me the most because it leads to ideas just pouring out before I even realize. You also get free ideas and critique from them. (If you have no one to discuss with feel free to show me and I'll give you some honest feedback.)

TAKE A BREAK!!! I cannot overstate how important this is. The world's hard enough without you burning yourself out. Let yourself rest and when you come back it'll be like you unlocked a hidden part of your brain. Make sure to take proper care of yourself as well, sleep, eat, and drink water to ensure your brain is at peak performance for creating.

⊹ “I’m not good for you.” - “Then be bad with me. Just don’t leave.”

⊹ cleaning up after their panic attack, and neither of you says a word. you just hold the trash can and breathe with them.

⊹ “if you can’t promise to stay, just say goodbye now.” - “…I’ll fight to stay. I just can’t promise I’ll win.”

⊹ patching up their busted knuckles in the bathroom sink after a fight they started to protect you. again.

⊹ “stop trying to fix me.” - “I’m not. I just like you, even with the cracks.”

⊹ both of you laughing a little too loud at something that isn’t funny - because if you don’t laugh, you’ll drown.

✧ "because I didn’t think you’d care."

✧ "because I barely admitted it to myself."

✧ "i was gonna... and then the moment passed... like three weeks ago."

✧ "because every time i almost did, i panicked and made a stupid joke instead."

✧ "it didn’t feel like something you’d want to know."

✧ "because i’m a professional at bottling things up until they explode spectacularly."

✧ "i figured if i kept quiet, it wouldn’t be real."

✧ "i was scared you’d look at me differently. and now you are."

✧ "because it was easier to lie than to see that look on your face."

✧ "i didn’t want to need you. still don’t."

✧ "because i didn’t want to ruin whatever this is."

✧ "because i’m tired of being the problem."

✧ "you were already dealing with so much. i didn’t want to be more weight."

✧ "i didn’t think i deserved to be honest with you."

✧ "because if i said it out loud, you might leave."

✧ "because i wanted to be someone you didn’t have to worry about."

✧ "because it’s not just about me. it never is."

✧ "you ever hold something in so long it becomes part of you? yeah. that."

✮ "I don't know how to be okay without you."

✮ "I said I was fine, but I'm not. Not even close."

✮ "I’ve been pretending for so long I forgot who I was before all this."

✮ "I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you."

✮ "Do you ever feel like you're just... rotting from the inside?"

✮ "I thought if I stayed quiet, it would hurt less. It didn’t."

✮ "I’m so tired of being the strong one."

✮ "I keep waiting for someone to save me, but no one ever comes."

✮ "You were the only good thing, and I ruined it."

✮ "I hate myself for still caring."

✮ "I didn’t mean to break it. I didn’t mean to break us."

✮ "Please don't leave. I don't think I can take it this time."

✮ "You want the truth? I’m barely surviving."

✮ "I kept it all inside because I didn’t think anyone would care."

✮ "I lie when I smile. I lie when I say I’m okay. It’s all lies."

✮ "You didn’t even notice I was drowning, did you?"

✮ "I don’t know how to ask for help without feeling like a burden."

✮ "I keep hoping tomorrow will be different. It never is."

✮ "I miss the person I used to be. Before all of this."

☽ Sometimes “writer’s block” is actually just your story being broken and your brain knowing before you do. Respect the vibes, go back. Something stinks.

☽ If you’re stuck in the middle, skip to the part you’re excited to write. Chronological writing is a suggestion, not a law.

☽ “Kill your darlings” is not about deleting every cool thing you love. It’s about not hoarding scenes like a dragon with dialogue you wrote in 2017 that doesn’t even make sense anymore.

☽ You do not need to write like your favorite author. You need to write like you, caffeinated and slightly unstable.

☽ Talking to yourself in the mirror as your character is not weird. It’s called method writing. You’re not unhinged, you’re dedicated.

☽ Aesthetic Pinterest boards and playlists are writing progress if they make you feel like a god again.

☽ You can write the climax before you finish Act 1. You can rewrite Chapter 1 thirty times and then delete it anyway. You’re not behind, you’re in hell with the rest of us.

☽ character A* saying “ugh you’re so annoying” while giving B* their last piece of food without hesitation

☽ one of them keeps a tally of who saved whose life. it’s always mostly a joke. mostly.

☽ someone quietly patching up another’s wounds and neither of them talks about it

☽ a big fight. like, yelling, rage, “fine then LEAVE”—but they don’t leave. they sleep five feet apart. still grumpy. still ride or die.

☽ A* carrying B* on their back and B* being like “put me down I’m fine” while actively bleeding out

☽ weird inside jokes that no one else gets. like everyone around them is like “is this a code???” no. it’s just dumb.

☽ one of them has a Bad Day and the others just know. they don’t talk about it, they just pull them into a couch pile and put on a movie

☽ dumb arguments like “you cannot name the dog Knife” followed immediately by “...fine. but I get to name the next one”

☽ someone saying “I don’t need help” and getting helped anyway

☽ they threaten to kill each other like every other hour, but the second someone else threatens one of them? suddenly it’s murder o’clock.

☽ found family member B* never had a birthday party before and now they get one every year and it’s a disaster and they love it

☽ car singalongs. chaotic energy. someone takes the harmony too seriously. someone else is off-key on purpose. someone films it. blackmail for later.

☽ someone says “no one’s ever done that for me before” and the other characters all go “????” because it was a tiny thing

☽ shared chores, shared grief, shared joy, shared toothbrush (gross), shared everything.

☽ someone forgets they’re allowed to ask for help now. someone else reminds them.

Weather in stories is not just there to make your characters wet or sweaty or annoyingly cold. It means stuff, like, big emotional metaphory stuff. You can totally use it to say what your characters aren’t saying out loud, or to punch your readers in the face with vibes.

༄ Storms – Big messy chaos energy. Fights or maybe Panic. Something bad is either happening or about to, like the universe is yelling “brace yourself!”

༄ Rain – Sad tears or soul shower, take your pick. Sometimes it’s like, "boohoo everything sucks," but also kinda healing? Think of it like an emotional reset button.

༄ Sunshine – Happiness, duh. But also those moments where everything is finally clear and warm and safe, even if just for a second.

༄ Fog – No one knows what the hell is going on. Secrets, confusion, probably someone making a very questionable decision.

༄ Wind – Change is coming, dear. Restlessness in the air...Could be thrilling, could be terrifying. Hair will get messed up either way.

༄ Snow – Either magical winter wonderland vibes... or total emotional frostbite. Loneliness, silence, maybe death if you’re feeling extra dramatic.

༄ Heatwave – Everyone’s cranky and sweaty and one second away from snapping. Tension is so thick you could cut it with a popsicle stick.

༄ Thunder – Something (or someone) is pissed off. Like divine wrath, or just the universe doing a mic drop.

༄ Lightning – FLASH of truth. Insight. Or rage. Whatever it is, it’s fast and it changes everything.