Soren Alexandre

Hi! I’m so glad to hear you love the blog, and I’m glad you know you need to revise. There’s so much (so much) under the revision tag that may help with this, but here are the basics for getting better at it: 

Read critically. I don’t mean your own work. I mean other authors (especially those working in the same genre) whose work you admire. Pay attention not only to the story but the individual building blocks that make it hang together: plot and structure, character, prose, etc. What are they doing well? Why does it work? What aren’t they doing well? Why doesn’t it work? You won’t get better at reading your own writing critically if you don’t first learn to read other people’s writing critically. 

Get some space. Trying to edit something you just finished writing is a fool’s errand, because it’s too fresh. It’s impossible to be objective when you’re still in the honeymoon phase. (You can’t ever be completely objective about your own work, but that’s a different conversation.) Take at least two weeks, preferably more like a month, and just let the draft rest. Chances are that when you do come back to it, all the flaws will be magnified and obvious. 

Compartmentalize. I had a workshop leader once who recommended only focusing on one element in each draft, which makes the process feel less overwhelming. So in one draft, maybe you only work on pacing. In another maybe you only work on character development. Maybe in another you only do dialogue. Focus your energy and pick your battles for each draft instead of trying to fix everything at once. 

Ask yourself “why”? So, you know it’s not flawless. But why? What is it that’s giving you that feeling? You can and should do this on macro- and micro- levels, with an entire book/chapter or just one sentence/paragraph. Anytime something stops you in your reading because it just feels wrong, spend some time thinking about what’s wrong about it before you try to improve it. You can’t fix it when you don’t know what’s broken. (This is a good way to decide how to break up those compartmentalized drafts, by the way. If you keep stumbling over the same problem from scene to scene, it’s a good sign that maybe you should spend a draft just working through that.)

Read it out loud. This is hard! It’s weird and uncomfortable! But reading your writing out loud is one of the FASTEST ways to realize exactly what’s wrong (at the prose level) because you’ll hear it. It’s going to sound off, like a false note on the piano, and once you hear it you can start asking what about it is putting you off. Then repeat steps 3-4 as needed.

Don’t be afraid to make big changes. You can’t make big strides without big changes, and the good news is that if you’re not 100% sure about something you can always save a different draft and give it a try without losing that previous work in case you change your mind. Yeah, it’s painful to admit you have to cut a whole character or 10,000 words or whatever, but if that’s what it needs, that’s what you need to do. Don’t be afraid of it.

Have reasonable expectations for yourself. Doing (good) revision, like anything else in writing, takes time and practice. There’s a learning curve. When I was first getting started my “revision” was really just me cutting and changing small stuff because I couldn’t really see the big problems. Now, when I dig into a new draft, I rip the whole thing to shreds without hesitation because I’ve learned my own style and my own habits and what I really want out of a story and how to make that happen. Revision is second-nature now because I’ve been doing it for twelve years. But that doesn’t happen overnight, and learning to revise takes just as much dedicated time and effort as learning to write, so don’t treat it as an afterthought. Treat it as a whole separate creative process that will only improve with experience. 

► 𝖜𝖗𝖎𝖙𝖊𝖇𝖑𝖗 𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

hello, everyone!! since i am participating in camp nano this year, i decided that i wanted to make a writeblr, so i can gather some resources, post some of my writing, read some of you guys’ writing, and overall just participate in this community! here’s my introduction post: 

↳ 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖊:

・you can call me rains (she/her) ・i’m 20 years old ・i’m starting med school later this year, but right now i’m not doing anything with my life ・i’ve been writing as a hobby since i was eleven or twelve, but i’ve never got even close to finishing any of my projects ・i’m latina and english is not my first language, but it is the language i write in ・my favorite genre is high fantasy (ya, na, adult, middlegrade, any type of high fantasy really), but i read anything that interests me ・i’m a bissexual cis woman

↳ 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖞 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖏𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖘:

・ 𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖞: well, right now i’m only working on this story, and i’ve had this idea since around 2013, but most of the work that i have done in it is from last year and this year. whew, that was complicated. i will make posts introducing the story and the characters, and i’m overall excited to put this out in the world!

*dusts off writing blog*

I’m a queer ya/adult fantasy and urban fantasy author, though looking to branch into horror and weird fiction as well. I also write fic for anime fandoms, but this blog will be focusing on my original works. My stories tend to revolve around strong women and unconventional characters finding their place in the world. Nihilism, existential angst, and hope are major themes in my writing. I adore myth and fairy tale retellings and am working on a few of my own. I’m also an artist, so I’ll occasionally post some art of my characters if I’m feeling artsy. 

My current project for Camp NaNo is A Scarab Lies On Earth a fantasy novel about a god torn from heaven and the mages that have to fight the darkness now threatening humanity.

Please like/reblog/reply so I can meet you guys! I’d love to make more write friends. I follow from my main @darthmauldatingsim

i. personal

☾ 28 // infp // introvert // night owl

☾ xicanx // she/they // queer

☾ call me ash here // or candevale [pr. like italian carnevale]

ii. fave fic authors/writeblrs

☾ xcgirl08 (inactive)

☾ recklessfiction

☾ rotworld

☾ hxldmxdxwn (star wars)

iii. fave modern writers

☾ V.E. Schwab

☾ Holly Black

☾ Angie Thomas

☾ Laini Taylor

☾ Tomi Adeyemi

iv. interested in

☾ fantasy // urban fantasy

☾ horror // weird fiction // paranormal

☾ gods // monsters // eldritch beings

☾ angst // tragedy

☾ magic // fairy tales // myths

v. don’t interact if!! 

Hi, my name is Bri! I recently realized I never made an intro post, so here it is!

basics // Bri | 21 (22 in a week) | she/her

I’m a recent college grad who has come back to regularly writing thanks to plenty of time home because of stay home orders. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to dedicate myself to writing, and even longer since I’ve focused on original works rather than fanfiction, so I’m excited to be here! This blog started as an experimental fresh start, and a place for me to dump all my ideas that don’t fit neatly anywhere else. Now, it’s become a fun community to see the process of other writers and to get inspired to improve my own writing.

I love music, dogs, cheesy supernatural romance books, and I spend entirely too much time taking personality tests and reading horoscopes for fun. I studied Psychology, with minor focuses on coding and the intersections of technology and society. Recently I’ve been spending most of my time reading, writing, playing through the Mass Effect series, and watching let’s plays on youtube.

I haven’t had a chance to interact with many other writers, but I’m super down to chat, so never hesitate to message me about your writing, your wip, or even just how your day is going!

writing // 2 wips and lots of other things

I love to read fantasy and romance, and that’s where my writing tends to fall as well. In addition to short stories and two longer series, I write a tiny bit of mediocre poetry on the side.

|| THE COVEN ||

The Coven is about a found family of vampires who are all struggling through their own interpretations of the meaning of immortality. For now, I plan to release this wip as a series of “short” stories about various groupings of this particular coven. To start, I’m working on bittersweet, the story of Cassian and Elena. These two are my babies, and I’m so excited to tell their story. Their relationship is essentially the trope of grumpy meets wholesome cutie and they’re each other’s weakness. After that I plan to write about how the original trio (Cassian, Theodosios, and Kassandra) came to be together, and it’s going to be all sorts of fun.

Basically the product of every vampire fantasy I’ve had since middle school (lol).

elements // angst, romance, violence, found family, meaning of life

|| TWICALNFB ||

Full title: The world is cold and life’s not fair, baby

This one is very much still in the early stages. Originally a fanfic, I’m planning to adapt it to be an original. In a world where supernatural creatures like demons and angels walk the earth, the Sins and the Virtues are some of the most powerful beings alive. Very few humans know the truth, and those who do are often working with angels against demons. The sin of Wrath finds himself wrapped up in the search for a human woman’s missing brother. Things seem trivial at first, nothing more than an amusing distraction, but things quickly take a more interesting turn when a plot to murder Wrath comes to light and a simple missing person case turns into a dangerous hunt for the truth.

elements // angst, violence, supernatural, more to come

Note: I’ve worked on this story for years. It’s been a favorite that I always come back to when I have time, and ever since I finished the first chapter, I’ve dreamed of really fleshing it out and turning it into an original story. Very excited to put those plans into action.

|| OTHER WRITING ||

I have quite a few short stories and poems. I have a lot of fun experimenting with these kinds of things, so I’m usually proud of them despite the lack of polish.

there are too many to list, but my masterlist can be found on my blog!

//////

>> writerthreads on Instagram

1. The constant victim

The person always finds a way to become a victim in any scenario even when it’s not the case

2. One-upmanship expert

The person uses snide remarks, criticism and put-downs to make you seem inferior

3. Powerful dependant

They pretend to be weak to dominate relationships

4. Triangulators

They try to get people on their side and separate others’ relationships by saying things that might not be true

5. The blasters

They get very angry easily and suddenly and ‘blast’ you with their anger

6. The projector

They think that they’re perfect and others are flawed. They take no ownership to things that turn sour because they’re “never wrong”

7. Deliberate mis-interpreter

They seem nice but twist your words for their own benefit. They spread disinformation and misinformation and present you in a negative way

8. The flirt

They use flirting to get things in life. They want attention but they don’t give any attention

9. The iron fist

They intimidate others to use people and to get what they want

10. The multiple offender

no you don’t understand shakespeare literally writes to the beat of your heart

that’s why shakespearean actors will sometimes pound their chests in time to the words during readings

that’s why you use fluctuations in the rhythm to track your character’s emotional state - any irregularities in the scansion are like the character’s heart stuttering or jumping or skipping a beat

that’s why when characters share the rhythm - switching off in the middle of a foot - those characters inevitably have an extraordinarily intimate connection

shakespeare fucking writes viscerally, he is literally in your body, and that, my friend, that is why the best shakespearean actors don’t posture and emote

you have to be fucking alive and passionate and electric - it can’t be intellectual, in the end, it has to be about connection and the sweating, cheering, jeering, bleeding masses you’re performing to, because make no mistake, shakespeare may go to lofty heights, but he only works if you’re just as grounded in the earth. he has to be in your body. he has to be in your body.

365 Books ↳ #58 - Normal People