Bookworm

This one is a tricky issue to solve, because in all honesty, no matter how many articles you read or motivational quotes you scroll through, you will never actually be productive unless you make yourself, and that’s the sad truth of writing. I do have some resources that may help you with this, though. 

I’m not sure where your sporadic writer’s block is coming from, but if you’re having a case of falling out of love with writing temporarily, here are some things for you:

Tips and Advice For Aspiring Writers, Authors, and Poets

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Why “Burnout” Is Okay - The Creativity Cycle

If you simply need some tips on staying motivated consistently, or at least staying productive and holding yourself accountable, here are some things that will help:

Beginning A Story And Sticking With It

How To Motivate Yourself To Write

Writing Through Mental Health Struggles

How To Actually Get Writing Done

Writing On A Schedule

Healthy Forms Of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

If you need some warm up inspiration, I usually find following a prompt when I’m stuck very helpful. Writing a hundred words on some prompt usually gets me into the zone with low pressure compared to actually getting my writing done.

Here are all of my one-off, daily prompts

~ Daily Writing Prompts

Here is my masterpost of prompt lists that may suit your fancy or help you get into the writing mood you need for a scene.

~ Prompt Lists Masterlist

Some playlists based on scene types for every scene mood:

Things To Listen To When You’re Working 

Writing Playlist // Spotify

Wordsnstuff’s Writing Playlist

Romantic Scenes

Resolution Scenes

Calm Scenes

Climax Scenes

Fun Montage Scenes

Angst Scenes

Fight Scenes

Epic Scenes

Chase Scenes

Sad Scenes

Here are some asks I’ve previously answered that are similar to yours:

Apps That Help You Focus

Falling Out Of Love With A Story You Want To Finish

How I Recommend Building Your Own Writing Playlists

Hope this helps. Happy writing!

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Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers

As described by Selnick’s article:

– I decided to make this article as sort of a first step for those writers out there who struggle to apply a practical, moral meaning to their stories and execute them in a positive way. I’ve included five tips and broken them down so that they’ll help you on your writing journey to affect some change. Happy writing!

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Choose A Theme You’re Passionate About

Writing about something you don’t care about is a waste of time, and a waste of your readers’ attention. If you’re going to say your story means something worth hearing, then make it mean something you actually have a genuine passion behind. Saying “this is to combat x,y,z popular topic of discussion” doesn’t make your story mean anymore than it would without it. Meaning comes from within your voice as a writer, so make it count toward something. Take that power and use it for something you believe in.

Use Symbolism

Symbolism is a really good technique for conveying meaning in your story. Symbolism isn’t just an object symbolizing representing something else, it’s a piece that fits into a larger idea that paints the picture which shows the message to the reader. I have a more detailed guide to symbolism, and you can find those resources below in the resources section.

Make The Plot Support The Message

The actual story you’re telling should feed the message and convey the major themes you’ve chosen to highlight through events within it. This seems fairly simple, but it can be hard to balance the message with the goal of entertaining the reader. Hence, it can be hard to keep them interested enough to stick around long enough to actually pick up on the themes. Make the events and subplots and main conflict support the message in multiple ways.

Choose An Actual Issue

There’s a difference between highlighting a really niche topic and commenting on it, and using your voice as a writer to impact change on a large scale. However, it can be tricky when deciding a specific thing to focus on in your writing, since there is such thing as a theme that’s too specific for the reader to get, or too vague to make a difference in their mindset. 

Simply saying “the theme is that racism is wrong” doesn’t really challenge the status quo or any significant dissenting opinion. That theme has been explored in depth and most people would agree that yes, racism is ignorant and wrong, but what does that have to do with your plot? That’s too vague. However, you also can’t pick a message that’s too specific to be interpreted by the everyday reader who doesn’t spend hours psychoanalyzing your work for symbol, motif, and intertextuality. Not every reader is an academic, and you have to make the message accessible to the majority, and not just the scholarly type.

Other Resources

The Ultimate Guide To Symbolism

Commentary On Social Issues In Writing

How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story

Useful Writing Resources

Useful Writing Resources II

Resources For Plot Development

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Request Resources, Tips, Playlists, or Prompt Lists

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MY CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS (Check it out, it’s pretty cool. At least I think it is.)

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Give Yourself A Lot of Time and A Lot of Options

Don’t stick to the first title you come up with. Like artists brainstorm with different compositions and color combinations and concepts, you need to think about your title from as many angles as possible and give yourself a lot of options to choose from. I suggest doing several brainstorms, over a long period of time, and then going through and picking your favorites and doing pros and cons, and finally, running it past a group of at least 10 people to see what catches their attention.

Make Your Title Distinct and Memorable

If you come up with a solid base for your title, such as “love and wanting”, go with something a little more unique and memorable to your reader, such as “desire and desperation”, (not that those are good titles, but you see my point). However, don’t go overboard and lose the significance of the title in the flowery language. 

Give Your Title Layers

This is why you probably shouldn’t name your story until it’s completely finished. You want a reader to read your title the first time and feel intrigue, then read it once they’ve finished and feel nostalgia or an “OOOHHH… that’s what that means” feeling.

Make Your Title Match The Overall Tone of Your Story

If your novel is a horror story, make the title give your reader the creeps, or at least unsettle them. If it’s a fantasy, use language you associate with fantasy, such as words that give the reader a mystical, imaginative, adventurous feeling.

Don’t Give Away The Entire Plot

This is kind of difficult to explain, but imagine if J.K. Rowling called Harry Potter, “The Dark Lord’s Downfall”. Like.. what the hell. Now I know exactly what’s going to happen, I’ll predict all the plot twists, and I’ll know how it ends before I even read a word. So yeah, don’t do this.

Your Title Should Put A Taste on The Reader’s Tongue

Use words that are interesting to the senses and trigger associations. I think the bulk of this tip can be ran with for most genres, so just keep this in mind.

Some Helpful Tips

Google your title with the word “book” after it, just to see if it’s been used already for a popular novel. It’s not technically against the rules to have a book with the same title, but if your book title shows up with a New York bestseller attached to it that has a whole wikipedia page, maybe rethink it.

For my fellow non-fiction writers out there, instead of titling your work by specifying the subject, put an interesting spin on the topic. For instance, Stephen King’s On Writing could have been called “How To Write Like Famous Author Stephen King”, but that would have been.. off-putting. 

Support Wordsnstuff!

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon

Request Resources, Tips, Playlists, or Prompt Lists

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a list of oc questions in alphabetical categories - i made each category based on the first word I could think of in alphabetical order, so enjoy!

A: Aptitude 1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young? 2. what activities have they participated in? 3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for? 4. what things are they bad at? 5. what is their most impressive talent?

B: Basics 1. what is their hair color? 2. what is their eye color? 3. how tall are they? 4. how old are they? 5. how much do they weigh?

C: Comfort 1. how do they sit in a chair? 2. in what position do they sleep? 3. what is their ideal comfort day? 4. what is their major comfort food? why? 5. who is the best at comforting them when down?

D: Decoration 1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name? 2. how would they decorate their child’s room? 3. how do they decorate their own room? 4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear? 5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends?

E: External Personality 1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality? 2. do they do things that conform to the norm? 3. do they follow trends or do their own thing? 4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads? 5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own?

F: Fun 1. what do they do for fun? 2. what is their ideal party? 3. who would they have the most fun with? 4. can they have fun while conforming to rules? 5. do they go out a lot?

G: Gorgeous 1. what is their most attractive external feature? 2. what is the most attractive part of their personality? 3. what benefits come with being their friend? 4. what parts of them do they like and dislike? 5. what parts of others do they envy?

H: Heat 1. do they rather a hot or cold room? 2. do they prefer summer or winter? 3. do they like the snow? 4. do they have a favorite summer activity? 5. do they have a favorite winter activity?

I: In-the-closet 1. what is their sexuality? 2. have they ever questioned their sexuality? 3. have they ever questioned their gender? 4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT? 5. how long would/did it take for them to come out?

J: Joy 1. what makes them happy? 2. who makes them happy? 3. are there any songs that bring them joy? 4. are they happy often? 5. what brings them the most joy in the world?

K: Kill 1. have they ever thought about suicide? 2. have they ever thought about homicide? 3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who? 4. who would miss them if they died? 5. who would be happy they died, anyone?

L: Lemons 1. what is their favorite fruit? 2. what is their least favorite fruit? 3. are there any foods they hate? 4. do they have any food intolerances? 5. what is their favorite food?

M: Maternal 1. would they want a daughter or a son? 2. how many children do they want? 3. would they be a good parent? 4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter? 5. would they adopt?

N: Never Have I Ever 1. what would they never do? 2. what have they never done that they want to do? 3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do? 4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done? 5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do?

O: Optimism 1. are they optimistic or pessimistic? 2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others? 3. are they good at giving advice? 4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them? 5. were they always optimistic?

P: Personality 1. what is their best personality trait? 2. what is their worst personality trait? 3. what of their personality do others love? 4. what of their personality do others envy? 5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities?

Q: Questions 1. do they ask for help? 2. do they ask questions in class? 3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable? 4. do they ask weird questions? 5. are they curious?

R: Rules 1. do they follow rules? 2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent? 3. have they ever been consequenced for breaking a rule? 4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking? 5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous?

S: Streets 1. are they street-smart? 2. would they give money to someone on the streets? 3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets? 4. has anything happened to them on the streets? 5. are they cautious when out?

T: Truth 1. are they honest? 2. can they tell if someone is lying? 3. is it obvious when they’re lying? 4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about? 5. have they told truths that have been spread against their will?

U: Underdog 1. have they been bullied? 2. have they bullied anyone? 3. have they been physically attacked by a bully? 4. have they ever been doubted? 5. have they surprised people with being good at something?

V: Vomit 1. do they vomit often? 2. do they get lots of stomach aches? 3. are they good at comforting someone ill? 4. what do they like as far as comfort goes? 5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting?

W: Water 1. do they drink enough water? 2. have they learned to swim? 3. do they like to swim? 4. can they dive? 5. can they swim without holding their nose?

X: Xylophone 1. what is their favorite genre of music? 2. do they have a favorite song? 3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer? 4. can they sing well? 5. can they rap?

Y: You 1. how old were you when you created them? 2. what inspired you to create them? 3. were they different when they were first created? 4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters? 5. what’s your favorite thing about them?

1. BUY YOUR SKIN TONE. Whether you have pink undertones or yellow, buy the product that balances your undertones and evens out your facial color. 2. Never highlight in the center of your forehead; instead, highlight just above your brow to ensure your forehead doesnt like like a four-and-a-half head. 3. Follow your natural eyebrow shape. Not every brow has to look ig fleaky. Also, when filling in, draw your hairs in fine, controlled movements in the direction of hair growth. 4. Always always always moisturize and prime before putting on makeup to make it last, and to protect your skin. 5. When doing eyeshadow, always do your transition shade first, then your crease, and then your lid color. 6. When doing a cut crease look, apply and blend your transition shade and crease. Then, trace ONLY your physical lid with concealer. Pat the concealer to blend, and before applying any shadow to your lid, APPLY TRANSLUCENT POWDER TO THE LID. This will make your color stick and last longer. 7. Wait a few minutes for your foundation to dry before applying any concealer or powder. This ensures a smoother finish, and makes the look last longer. 8. There are 2 types of concealers you need: one with an illuminating finish, for highlighting, and one with a matte finish, for coverage. Use the illuminating one on your T Zone, and use the matte one on undereye bags and blemishes. 9. Apply setting spray between doing your brows, face, and eyes instead of just one spray at the end. Itll make your face last a lot longer. 10. To avoid fallout, and to guide your eyeliner wing and creater a sharper look, apply a line of translucent powder at the outer corner of your eye in the direction of where you want your shadow or wing to go before you apply any eye makeup. 11. Curl your lashes before mascara. 12. Have a separate blending brush for your eyeshadow. This keeps colors from being overly pigmented and makes for a cleaner blend. I recommend ths BH Cosmetics eyeshadow brush kit ($9.99 on their site). 13. Wait until your mascara is completely dry before applying a separate coat to avoid any clumping or spider lashes. 14. Applying a thin layer of transluceny powdet between coats of lipstick helps to keep it on and pigmented (it also makes any lipstick look matte). 15. Use a colored eyeshadow as your inner corner highlight if you want a subtle colored look. 16. Let your face breathe; makeup is lit and I love wearing a full face, but you need to let your skin relax and regroup to avoid clogging your pores. 17. Applying a small amount of petroleum jelly or moisturizer to your cheekbones before adding highlight will give you a fuckin blinding glo✨ 18. Never ever ever sleep with makeup on 19. If you want a more natural finish, or you want to lighten the shade of your foundation, mix your foundation with some moisturizer before applying. 20. Always use a slightly lighter contour shade on your jawline than on your cheeks/nose/forehead. If your jawline is contoured too dark, it can make your face look extremely unnatural. 21. Always wet your beauty blender before using it for an easier blend. 22. Always blend your foundation into your neck and your ears to make the shade look more uniform and natural. 23. The whole concealer vs. foundation comes first debate is still a thing, but what works best for me is this order: color correcting and spot treatment concealer (for dark spots, undereye circles, pimples, etc), then foundation, then highlighting concealer. 24. If you use eyeliner on your lower waterline, apply some black eyeshadow with an eyeliner brush onto your waterline after applying pencil to make it last longer. 25. If you’re ever in a pinch, or want a monochromatic look, use a pink/red toned eyeshadow as your blush. 26. Sort of the same as number 25, but you can also use a light, shimmery eyeshadow as a highlight. 27. Everyone’s face is different; theres a look for everyone. Experiment with different shades and shapes to find the look that you think suits you best. 28. Remember, practice makes perfect!!

When I asked for post suggestions, one of the requested posts was ‘How to stay minimalist as a student’. One of the simplest ways I do that is not getting over excited in back to school season and buying things I don’t need. Instead, i use this time of year to get organised, plan and prioritise self care before the semester starts. 

I’ve turned my usual back to school planning routine into a 10 day challenge, but there is no pressure to post every single task and the 10 days definitely don’t have to be consecutive. 

The Challenge:

Day 1. Supplies - Plan out what you are going to use to take notes and stay organised this year. Keep it simple and don’t overbuy! 

Day 2. Goals - Set 3 simple goals for the semester, an academic goal, a personal goal and a self care goal

Day 3. Study routine - Plan how and when you are going to study for each class? What kind of notes will you take? How can you prepare for study sessions to get into a productive mood?

Day 4. Declutter - Organise your space before term starts. Empty your desk, put away your summer clothes, and declutter anything you don’t need anymore. Make your room a nice place to study in. 

Day 5. Routines - Plan a school morning routine that you want to get up for, an evening routine that will help you to get enough sleep, and a simple self care routine.  

Day 6. Mornings - Make a list of simple, healthy lunches you can pack and plan a few easy, comfy outfits. Planning will make mornings run smoother. 

Day 7. Stress - Plan how you can deal with stressful days before they arise. Make a list so you have a guide to follow when they inevitably happen. Make a self care box like mine if you like. (My self care box)

Day 8. Plan - Organise your planner or bullet journal with any information you have about your classes. Add in your timetable and any exam dates you know about. 

Day 9. Backpack - Clean out and repack your bag. Try to stick to the essentials. 

Day 10. Self Care - Have a self care day before school starts. Wash your hair, eat nice food, moisturise, read, watch Netflix and relax while you have the chance.