Writing Tips and Writeblr

They use always and never statements. "ALWAYS do this" "NEVER do that" good writers know almost everything works if you're crafty enough, and good writing advice will not simplify things into such black and white terms.

When you ask for a reason, they can't give you one. That tells you they don't know why and they're just copying what they've heard from other writers. They could easily be spreading nonsense.

They repeatedly state their opinions as facts. Example: they don't have to like YA, but they shouldn't stick "YA is immature and stupid and no one should write it" in their advice. I say be cautious if they repeatedly do this, since everyone does it sometimes--but they should be able to step back and be relatively neutral if asked to be.

They talk about things outside their experience/qualifications. If they say they don't understand grammar, don't listen to their grammar advice. If they don't like fantasy, don't listen to what they have to say about fantasy. If they rarely interact with 1st person, don't follow their advice about writing in 1st person. Etc, etc.

You don't like the way that they write the thing. If you've read someone's dialogue and it's not for you, don't follow their advice on how to write dialogue.

You've found bad writing advice from them before. Chances are, if someone was wrong about the things you already knew about (pacing, story structure) they're probably wrong about that thing you haven't learned yet (character dynamics, shock value.) This isn't always true! Some people are good with one thing and bad with another. But do consider if you're happy with their track record.

Tourettic OCD: OCD but without the intrusive thoughts, the compulsions can be fuelled by physical premonitory sensations.

Phantom tics: premonitory urges that are on objects - so you can feel an urge on an object and not on you. It can cause tics such as tapping, touching or hitting things.

Sensory issues: some people with Tourette’s have sensitivity to bright lights, loud sounds , certain tastes and textures. It can be to do with SPD.

Rage attacks: Sudden episodes of anger and destructive behaviour. A person having a rage attack may kick things, swear, hit things, break things and scream. These are involuntary just like tics and you have to wait for it to pass.

Disinhibition: having no mental breaks and saying things without thinking, or being excessively sassy or silly or having emotional outbursts.

Echopraxia: involuntarily copying other people’s movements.

Tic attacks: a sudden episode of extreme motor tics that can not be suppressed or can only be suppressed for a couple of seconds. It can sometimes look like a seizure or dystonia.

Internal tics: tics that can be inside you . Examples include Stomach churning tic or a wetting yourself tic (bladder tic) . I have given myself acid reflux from stomach tics before.

Writing tics: tics where you involuntarily make a mark on a paper or write something on a surface.

Laughing tics: I once had a tic where I would burst out laughing in really inappropriate times.

some people not might know about these, so i thought i would share <3 support people with these!

—MIGHT TRIGGER TICS!!—

coprolalia- most people know about this one. it’s the compulsion to curse. remember not everyone with tourettes has this, but those that do still need love and support!

copropraxia- the compulsion to make obscene gestures or touch one’s self in inappropriate ways. i have this.

echolalia- the compulsion to repeat what other people say. 

echopraxia- the compulsion to repeat someone else’s movements, particularly hand movements. 

palilalia- the compulsion to repeat what you say. ex- someone might repeatedy say “hello! hello! hello!” some people only repeat a certain sound, like “hello! lo! lo!”

klazomania- the compulsion to scream or yell.

you can tell me if there’s anything i should add and i might make a part 2. everyone deserves acceptance, love y’all!!!

Paliskepsi- compulsively repeating other’s words in your head

Echoskepsi/Echologia- compulsively repeating your own words/thoughts repeatedly

Coprographia/Writing tics- compulsions to write or draw (often obscene) things, in modern days these can also be typed on a computer.

Absence/Freezing tics- compulsions to stop all movement in place for an amount of time

i am not a writer, but sometimes when i read about a tourettic character or tourettes in the media etc, it’s not always accurate. representation is very important!

Please don’t make the character’s only tic swearing. Coprolalia is a thing, but it’s rather rare, and even people with coprolalia have motor tics too.

Tics wax and wane, and we have good days and bad days. We’re not ticcing every second! tics usually stop when we are very focused or listening/playing music. Almost all of us don’t tic when we sleep either.

You don’t have to write every time they tic! sometimes when I read books about tourettic characters, the author writes every time they tic. it often distracts from what’s going on, for ex- “he sat down and shook his head. then he squeaked. then he shrugged. then he…”.  you could just write “he sat down and ticced.”

Most people have tic triggers. some common triggers are thinking about TS, being around people with TS, food dyes, bright lights, loud noises, strong smells, or strong emotions.

We can usually suppress tics, but it’s hard. it feels like holding your breath in the way that you can’t do it forever, it hurts, and you have trouble thinking about anything but suppressing.

completely double spaced version on google docs here – this post is more blocky for the sake of people’s dashboards, but still long so people will be less likely to glaze over it. my apologies if that makes it hard to read

things to look for and avoid in an autistic character

• symptoms only manifesting as “nonverbal and rocking” • super smart / living calculator • super dumb / doesn’t understand anything • all the symptoms you can come up with for them are “awkward” and “has special interest(s)” (please do more research) • trains, technology, and/or math as special interests • acting like a child • getting treated like a baby • unreasonably cruel and uncaring about others’ reactions to them being cruel • if they’re comparable to sheldon from the big bang theory, start over • animal comparisons • a lack of feelings • please no stories about what it’s like to be autistic told by allistics

the right way to write an autistic person

• lots of symptoms, including secondary ones not included on a general diagnosis requirement list (here’s a list i rather like that was made by an autistic person – their blog is also a good resource) • having a good amount of general knowledge and actually talking about it (i cannot believe that i have to say this) • talking about things outside of special interests (again…. come on……….) (special interests are usually the default things our brains go to when theres no stimulation or we want to entertain ourselves – it isn’t literally all we think or talk about ever. if a conversation has no connections to a special interest, reconsider having your autistic character bring it up in a context that is not an introduction.) • explicitly expressed to be capable of attraction and romantic feelings – if your character is an adult, add sexual feelings to this point • capable of general functioning, just with a disability that makes it more difficult – not a walking disability (….sigh) • a wide amount of feelings and emotional turmoil (but perhaps only being able to express it in limited ways) • we’re people • just people whose brains are wired differently

things to avoid in research for an autistic character

• autism moms / autism blogs and websites not run by autistic people • any affiliation with autism $peaks means you should walk away and never look back • a scientist trying to create explanations for what autistic people do without actually asking / not mentioning asking autistic people • anything about a cure for autism • a person that “worked with autistic kids” phrased in the same way as “worked with animals” • talking about autistic people as if they are mysteries, are like animals, or are otherwise othered weirdos instead of people

things to look for in research for an autistic character

• actual autistic people talking about their experiences and symptoms • just stick to that and you’re good but it’s hard to find sometimes ngl. just look for the above red flags

things i would personally like to see in an autistic character

• less easy to swallow sadness and more destructive anger. i would love to see a canonically autistic character who was frustrated easily by small things and had trouble communicating why • not a story about being autistic, a story that happens to have a character or characters who are autistic – it isn’t pointed out or questioned, they’re right at home with the rest of the cast and not othered (a la symmetra from overwatch) • intensive sensory issues / small sounds making large reactions • clear communications about not liking x sensory thing (for example being touched) • poor motor skills / clumsiness and not being laughed at for it • walking funny (body bent downwards, walking very fast, walking slowly, big strides, shuffling, stiffness, etc)  – no one treats it as if it’s funny or something totally strange • a big personality that has a presence so they can’t be cast aside (but feel free to have quiet characters too) – if this was along with being nonverbal they would probably leap to being one of my favorite characters ever • a fear of asking for clarification on sarcasm or jokes because of past experiences and an arc about the character becoming more comfortable asking questions

>> if any fellow autistic people want to add something, feel free <<

Black Girls & Women: Representation We Want

As a Black woman reader, I definitely want to see more soft Black girls and women in literature. Girls with their own self-interests (caring about oneself isn’t necessarily selfish) and not always someone else’s caregiver is great too.

Here’s my list!

More Black girls...

In love

With close family bonds and healthy relationships and support systems (that don’t require enduring abuse, fixing their partner, or overall emotional labor to earn domestic happiness)

Being protected

As main characters, heroines and anti-heroes

On adventures

In fantasy and magical settings

In historical settings as peasants, upper-class society, and royalty

Descriptions of Black Afro hair, skin, features as a normal thing in books (see this compilation) and not in an Othering way

On the other hand, vibrant, sometimes hyped up descriptions that allude to their beauty (see this ask. Or this one). Not Othering, just appreciating! 

Put us in fancy dresses and give us a sword and let us dance at the balls and have admirers!

Experiencing complex emotions not necessarily in reaction to racism or racist violence

On the book cover! And with an accurate, not light or white-washed model

~Mod Colette

Responses:

@madamef-er

Soft black girls and nerd girls who like cute things. 

Shy black girls not just in situations with boys. 

More lgbtqia+ black girls. Studs! Femmes! 

Gender fluid and non conforming constantly changing their style because they like it!

Spies and not just as the 'sexy bait' or 'weapons master' let us sit behind the computer for once and be hackers and stuff

@tanlefan

Black girls who are just...people.

I want a fantasy escapism adventure that isn't a thinly veiled discussion on slavery or racism or any other aspect of The Struggle. I am tired. 

Can I just have a happy Black girl who believes in fairies or something?

@esmeraldanacho-1776 More autistic Black women/girls! I don't care what genre really; just have them in there!

@briarsthicket And enby black people!

@mattiekins

Def soft black girls. 

Energetic and playful. 

Or shy and quiet.

I want to see more black girls who are nerds and not just mommy mommying or nanny nannying everyone. 

I want black girls who want to be a ballerina, or a talk show host, or a game designer etc. 

I want a black girl who gets to be happy. 

Who doesn't have to act older than she is and be the shoulder for everyone, always.

@xiiishadesofgrey

I want more black lady nerds, if we’re talking modern settings!  

More black ladies who have a sporty/playful nature! 

Who aren’t afraid to get dirty and make chaos, without being dirty or frowned upon!

Strange as it sounds coming from me, more black princesses! Brandy as Cinderella in the 90s was my first Cinderella, and I LOVE that.

Please, god, more black wlws.

@daintythoughtswritersblock

I want to see tropes exercised 

Black women of all shades and tones

@hazelnut4370

Tbh just fellow black people being happy, like I rarely see that,

Or enjoying hobbies

rivergoddessdream

Happily childless black women

Black women traveling the world

Fat black women in happy, healthy, poly relationships

Black cis and trans women having a true sisterhood

Autistic black women

Black women in period pieces that aren't about slavery and don't take place in the US

Black women thespians

Black women painters

Black women revolutionaries

Black women front and center in the narrative

Black women healers and storytellers

Non christian Black women stories

Black women rockers

#complicated black women characters #tell those stories

@missnancywrites

More Black Girls...

With diverse cultural and social backgrounds!

That are nerdy, girly, intelligent, ditzy, all the personality types that white girls in literature get!

That are fragile, shy or anxious. Almost every single black woman I’ve seen in media or otherwise are wise and adult. Let us be an absolute wreck, or an anxious mess!

In science! Characters like Shuri, Moon Girl and Iron Heart in Marvel revitalized me, cuz young black girls only get two types. Both these girls are in intellectual and in science, but have bery different personalities.

In interracial relationships, and not because they hate black men or something along those lines. They just happen to be dating outside their race, black women get hate for that in real life and it’s unfair. Let us have relationships outside our race! That said...

In platonic relationships with black men! I think that’s important, cuz I don’t often seen black solidarity unless it’s for the purpose of showing how diverse the writing is. Let them share interests, daily frustrations that they would only understand, but don’t force a romance.

In solid friendships with other black girls! For some reason, we’re pitted against in each other inside and outside of writing! Write some sweet wholesome friendship!

With different sexualities! Let there be some that are ace, others are gay, bi or pan! Just be sure you don’t sexualize them, or turn em into a robot.

•Who are dark-skinned! This can be seen a lot in tv or movies, but when you want a black girl in your stuff don’t just hire a light-skinned black girl or a biracial black girl. It’s not the same.

Who get to act their age! Black women have a long standing history of being adultified, starting from a very young age, and it’s extremely harmful. Little black girls can wear what they please, the problem is people sexualizing them. Let the teen black girl be a teenager, she can look out for her siblings but she isn’t the keepern the house or their lives. Young adult black girls are not ideal housewives or capable working machines, they mess up and mess around just as much as any young adult.

With mental/physical disabilities or illnesses. Alongside with being forced to be more mature than they are, disabilities/illnesses are never taken seriously and we’re forced to just deal with it. Having black girls who happen to have these issues, but also have a healthy support group is always good!

@ink-and-roses

Seen as beautiful and desirable and NOT in a hypersexualized way

Interracial relationships are wonderful because black girls are beautiful and lbr everybody sees it

Sensitive and allowed to feel something other than righteous anger

Some black girls are skinny! Some are big! Some are slim and some are curvy! There’s no mold!

Dark skinned!

A YA protagonist out to save the world from something other than racism

Superpowers or magic that doesn’t come from generational trauma or slavery

Black characters who support other black characters. None of this token crabs in a barrel business.

Black girl nerds and punks and goths exist. I promise.

And this may be a personal preference but I’m not against the idea of a damsel in distress. We are always being strong. Let her be soft and delicate and cared for. Let her be princess carried and rescued from the tower and the dragon.

[Note from Mod: It’s not just you! I love a Black damsel being saved and protected. What is progressive for one woman varies due to historical and present depictions and is why intersectionality in feminism is so important! -Colette]

@nightlyswordswoman

As a writer, I write a lot of my black female characters like this because I rarely ever see black women being represented in these ways! ESPECIALLY on the covers of books, unless the author themselves is a black woman and even then its rare. 

Too often black women are stereotyped as strong protector types that are always rough, tough, and don’t need anybody in books (and real life), when that’s honestly just dumb and inaccurate--black women are as vulnerable as anyone else (in some cases, even more vulnerable, but that’s another topic). 

writblr introduction

Heyo! My name’s Haven and I’m very new to Tumblr and Writblr so I hope you’ll cut me some slack lol. I’m sixteen, Canadian, and I have been writing for ten years now. My favourite genres to write are definitely scifi and fantasy (along with the occasional fanfiction) and I am currently planning a work that is a blend of the two! I love subverting tropes, adding some good ol’ fashioned existentialism, and writing badass female characters! 

facts about me

I’m a Gryffindor, Aquarius, and INFJ

I’ve always been into super dark stuff– I won a writing contest when I was nine after writing about a drowning unicorn!

I’ve never been in a relationship before and compensate for that by writing the romance of my dreams

I’m a mega procrastinator, but I also wrote 50k words in eleven days so I guess it depends

I love nature but am afraid of almost everything in it 

current project

I just finished the second draft of a whopping 140k word fic, and now I’m going back to writing original works! Currently, I’m planning out a novel called Station Lepidoptera (working title) about parallel universes and a train that takes you to them (I’ll set up a proper wip intro when I’ve figured more stuff out). 

writblrs i admire

(If you want to be untagged, tell me!)

@apricotwrites​ @nothingisliteral​ @aelenko​ @albatris​ @incandescent-creativity​ @radley-writes​ @elliewritesstories​ @mshelleys​ @priyaele​ @kiyotaki​ @ifonlyicouldwrite​ @calliopaes​ @dumbestversion-greatestfeeling​ and a lot more i can’t think of right now!! 

HI, WRITEBLR !

you can call me dione; i am a nineteen year old black bisexual writer just looking to share my projects and interact with other writers more. i’ve been on the fence about making a writeblr for a while and i thought: it’s summer now so what better time to start?

( THE WRITER )

i’ve been writing for about eight years now ( got my start in twilight fan-fiction and now somehow i’m here )

 i am a huge fan of character-driven stories, i’ll read pretty much any genre as long as i like the characters 

writing-wise, i tend to stick to apocalyptic, fantasy && contemporary stories

while novel writing is my go-to, i am also ( attempting to) branch out into script writing and trying to rekindle my love for poetry 

i like to think i’m a pretty neat person, so don’t ever be afraid to shoot me a message about whatever! 

( THE WORK )

LUCY & THE END — a girl and her dog who have been surviving the end of the world meet a man who dreams of more than just getting by. by no small mirical, he manages to convince her to come along. an apocalyptic/fantasy (?) with a budding friendship as the focus. This is pretty much my pride and joy. this is probably the project i’ve devoted the most time toward.

WHEN THE DUST SETTLES — a woman is forced from comfort and safety after her sister decides to run away and join a girl gang. she has no clue how to survive the harsh, unforgiving wastelands but, luckily, she’s got help from a mercenary who would probably rather being doing anything else. a post-apocalyptic western with lesbians and sisterly love. 

but one of the biggest things is checking the response rates/times of agents prior to querying them. there’s a few reasons–

most agencies have a “query only one of us at a time” rule. if you query a “no response means no” agent, you’ll be waiting (sometimes several months) to query anyone else at the agency

^^ same goes for a slow-responder. some agents take less than a week, some take up to several months.

it’s a lot easier to get rejections than to close out queries due to no response–there’s always that “but what if they respond???” niggling in the back of my mind (of course, mentally checking them off doesn’t mean they can’t respond, but it’s still A Thing)

the querying-in-batches and the reasoning behind it works a Lot better if you have a concept of how long agents take to respond

Beta/first/early readers are a really important part of the writing process for a lot of writers. In general it seems to be the consensus that you need more than one beta reader.

However, I’m wondering if anyone who has had experience with beta readers could let me know what they find to work best in terms of number of beta readers?

i think the ideal number of beta reads is different for every person and every project, but i’d definitely recommend aiming for the 15-20 range. (it’s a lot of people to manage, but you’ll thank yourself when you’re done)

but!! don’t grab extra people for the sake of filling slots. i initially intended to only have 15 and the reason i had 20 was bc i simply couldn’t turn those extra 5 people away

hello!! thank you for the ask <3 (& before i forget--you have a lovely day too!)

i think a good time to get beta readers is after ...

your plot is in its “final” form structurally. you’ve ironed out your plot, there are no major plot holes you can see, etc. “final” is in quotes bc your betas will likely find something you missed & you’ll need to rework it a bit

your writing is semi-polished. there’s about 80% polish. it’s nice enough and readable, but you’ve not spent hours and hours and hours line editing (enough is likely to change that, in my opinion, it’s not a great idea to suffer through getting it perfect before beta readers)

so, in conclusion. good enough. your plot is solid (including at least your protagonist’s character arc), your writing is half-decent. &, of course, you’re in an open mindset for making some serious changes if need be

if so, did you find the server helpful? would you be willing to chat with me about how it was structured?

Rules, Intros, Links

rules:  ground rules because it was a multi-age server

intros: everyone lists their names, pronouns, and ages (or at least if they’re under/over 18)

links: I dropped the link to the doc and anything else anyone asked for (like pinterest pages)

Discussions

general chat: general socializing

WIP chat: book stuff!

WIP spoiler chat: readers got access to this channel after they passed the midpoint reveal so we could talk about spoilery things without ruining it for everyone else

Share your stuff (In the future, I might condense this?)

your writing

your art

pet pictures

Repost of my last post, with some additional info now that I’ve done one round of these already!

In an effort to raise some funds to replace my 13-year-old desktop PC, and hopefully ease some of ongoing artistic obstacles, I am briefly opening commission work. Like last round, I again have 5 slots open, but if those slots fill quickly, and you DM me, I’ll add you to my waitlist. Pricing and other info below! 

(Hopefully I’ve simplified this a little!)

Portraits:

Pencil sketches with some minor digital enhancements: $15

Full color digital portraits: $20

Full-length poses

Pencil sketch: $15

Clean pencil sketch with digital enhancements/colors: $25

Full length poses with full color (digital): $50

(These are digitally inked, digitally painted, with minor background detailing.)

Other notes:

- No nudity / NSFW art / I reserve the right to decline a commission, yadda yadda.

- No fanart. Original characters only. I can also do portraits of family/friends/etc sometimes, just know that it won’t be photo-realistic, it will be in my style.

- References are the BEST, and so are detailed descriptions and/or story segments. I love dynamic poses! Intricate costumes! The more references or description you send, the better the drawing will be!

- I will do a one-pass revision if there is something you would like changed in the finished drawing. If you are really thoroughly unsatisfied with something, obviously no payment obligations.

- If you want additional characters added, I am usually willing to do that for $15 per additional character, no matter what level of complexity you choose.  

- I generally don’t do lots of background detail, but talk to me if you want that, and I might be able to negotiate something. (I usually just find it too time-consuming with the limitations of my current tools.)

- Payment through PayPal!

Annnnd I think that’s it! Signal boosts appreciated, DM me if you are interested!

hello! :) first, thank you so much!!

second, i have a lot of posts on this under #cog content. Here’s a post with a collection of the favorite posts i’ve done on the topic.

after the big long post i made about narrowing down my “maybe list” of agents, i got some interest in how exactly i go about that (and how i go about building a list of potential agents in the first place)

first thing’s first

where should you start

the main tool i’m going to show you how to use is querytracker.net (i’ve said it 50 times and i’ll say it again: if you’re querying premium is more than worth it).

there are a handful of different places you can source agents. here’s a few …

querytracker.net - a comprehensive tool for finding agents/publishers and tracking queries and submission

duotrope.com - same features but i found it less valuable

mswishlist.com - a compiled list of agents’ twitter #MSWL requests

manuscriptwishlist.com - a big database of agents and the “profiles” they’ve built to let you know exactly what they’re interested in

publishersmarketplace.com - roughly the same thing, for our purposes

aaronline.org - database of agents belonging to association of authors’ representatives with their interests

duotrope is the only site that requires a subscription, and querytracker is the only one that offers extended features with a subscription.

so let’s get started