kellin/kenny

The moment I ask, SIMPLY ask you to not say "simp", "based", "it be like that" or otherwise appropriate AAVE when I know you're nonblack, and I talk this from experience, you and every other nonblack around act SO defensive, like I'm the disruptive one, I'm the one making everyone feel uncomfortable... and I'm simply incapable of elaborating or I'll get kicked off or something, I'm afraid?

you don’t have to write everyday. writing everyday works for some people, and if you’re one of those, great! keep doing it! but if you struggle to write everyday, remember that you don’t have to. forcing yourself to write can quickly turn your passion into a responsibility that you never asked for. instead, experiment to see what works best for you. set yourself some deadlines; choose a day or two a week and dedicate them to writing; or just write whenever you feel like it. there are no rules. just try not to let that week of no writing turn into a month into a year.

write down every idea you have whenever you have it. in your notes, in your journal, on the nearest piece of paper, on your palm. ideas come and go, and if you don’t write them down, you might forget them.

a bad page is better than an empty page. the moment you feel the need to write, or have a bit of muse, start writing. you can edit a bad page, but an empty one won’t write itself.

even if you don’t know how to start a chapter, write anyway. i’ve noticed that ideas come to me when i finally put my hands to work. i’ve written scenes that i thought of on the spot; i gave characters some personality traits that i never thought of before. the words will come to you.

submerge yourself in your world. insert yourself in the story, even if it’s in a third-person pov. picture it as a movie. picture it the way you’d want your readers to. completely let yourself go and drown in your work.

solidify your characters. even side characters, give them personalities. try to picture them a certain way, and even better if you have a specific actor or model in mind for them. picture how they dress, how they move, how they talk, do they have messy hair, do they wear glasses, are they loud, are they soft-spoken? what’s their favourite movie, favourite book, favourite music genre? do they wear their seatbelt? do they lock their bedroom door, do they sleep with the lights on or off? do they prefer tea or coffee? maybe both or neither? write it down. you don’t have to include all of it in your book, but write it down for yourself. the more you know about your characters, the easier it will be to write dialogues and come up with scenes.

show, don’t tell. avoid using adverbs. sometimes they’re necessary, but when you can, describe the action instead of telling it, describe the scene. don’t tell readers that a character is angry, show them that they’re angry.

let the characters tell the story. the moment you let the narrator explain everything, your book will turn from a story to something that resembles a lecture. let the characters discuss things, let someone ask a question and the one with the information answer. let your characters take matters into their own hands, let them explore their own world with the reader. they’re just as new to it.

don’t dwell on big, colourful words and neglect the story itself. beautiful prose won’t make up for the lack of a good substance. the story should be good enough to stand on its own. beautiful prose is a bonus. and besides, too many big (unnecessary) words can be hard for some readers. re-read what you wrote: does it make sense? is it easy to understand? if the answer is no to both, simplify it.

eyes on your own paper. don’t compare yourself to others, especially successful authors that have been in the industry for a while. instead, learn from them. they were in the same position as you once.

read, read, read and treat that as some sort of research and a form of learning. pay attention to punctuation, word flow, paragraph spacing, beginnings and endings (both of books and chapters). implement what you like and avoid what you don’t like (but don’t steal; just take inspiration from them). include something that you were looking for in books but never found.

turn off your inner editor. stop trying to make sure that one single line or paragraph sounds good before moving onto the next. when you start writing, just keep going. on and on until you run out of ideas. then go back and proofread, edit, replace words with better-sounding synonyms. the more you stop to make sure something is ‘perfect’ the more time you’ll be wasting.

better done than perfect. finish your first draft. worry about whether it’s perfect or not later. and truth is, nothing is ever perfect. we’re all learning and growing, and the more you write, the better you’ll get at it. by the time you finish your first draft, you’ll have grown and changed some of your writing style and will be able to easily edit what you don’t like.

joshua in debate night III

Crush to Sweet Romance

Start with my post Friendship Turns to Romance, but take into consideration the fact that things will be one-sided for a bit. Ultimately, you'll have to decide at what point the crush realizes the other person's interest and realizes they're interested, too. From there, you can use the following posts as guides:

The Subtle Signs of Romantic Interest and Love Guide: Creating Romantic Chemistry Guide: Characters Falling in Love Transitioning Through Levels of Affection Writing a Wholesome Romance

I hope that helps!

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