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make sure its the right idea and right time

you might get a new exiting idea every day and start planning it, promising yourself “this is the one im going to finish” but still ending up abandoning it for another one by next week because it either stopped being exiting or you ran into an issue which convinced you its too difficult or just wrong

you can fix this by reflecting and using your revelations to choose the right project

what do you like? what do you like reading about? what do you like writing about? what do you know a lot about? what are you good at writing about?

accept that there may be ideas you like as concepts, maybe you’d like reading them but not writing it into a book yourself.

is there an idea/theme/anything you’ve had in mind for a long time and havent abandoned? why is that different? list things you’ve liked for a long time. doesnt even have to be writing related

there are many new exiting things to put your focus on for a week or maybe even month but if you truly want to be consistent, its time to look at what you’re able to be consistent about

at what point do you usually abandon projects? why? whats the furthest youve gotten? what got you there?

its really important to understand the reason behind abandoning your previous projects to do your best avoiding that in the future

whats your favourite part of the writing process? which one do you struggle with the most? which part do you simply dislike? is it possible that maybe you only like the idea of writing a book or having written a book? why do you want to be a writer

when choosing a project, consider how much you’d get to do the parts you like about writing and how much you’d have to face the parts you dont

what do you usually do when faced with a hardship during the writing process? what could you do better? if someone came to you and told you all of these problems, what advice would you give them? do you think you give up too easily? what makes you give up exactly (a feeling, a thought, a mindset, a trait, etc)? what would happen if you never changed any of this? would you even finish a book ever?

the writing process isnt easy. there isnt a single author that didnt go through writers block or a plot hole that seeemed impossible to solve at the time. this is why its inportant to have the right project that is worth fighting those hardships for while enjoying the journey

try to understand the difference between something not being right for you and something simply being difficult at the time

is this project you?

is this the project you’d like to be known for?

why this project? what does it mean to you? what do you like about it?

is this the project you see yourself writing about, every step of the way? it could be helpful to make a list of everything you’d need to do in order to finish this specific project—researching a specific topic needed for the worldbuilding, coming up with all the characters, etc

which parts of this book would you enjoy writing about? which parts would you not? is it worth it?

if you find that this project isnt right, revisit the first reflection list you made and choose some key elements you’d like to include in your books, be known for, and write about. revisit your book ideas and put together a book idea that includes these elements and do reflection on that one too

whenever you feel like giving up, ask why. is it because you no longer like the project or is it just difficult? why? maybe the problem is not the project but what it has become? try going back to the very start and core of the idea and seeing when it turned into what it has become? if this is true and you realise you dont like your project anymore, go back and change the entire thing. its totally okay and happens to writers all the time. this isnt wasted effort, this is you discovering yourself as a writer and what you want your project to be. its never too late to change up everything about your project.

to solve this, make a mindmap of every possible path your story could take. write down everything and choose 2-3 you like most. then write them all down separately and reflect on which one would be the best. list the pros and cons of each one. remember: reflection is so important in every step of the way

before giving up

lets say you found yourself stuck again. everything seems difficult and you want to give up. remember that you’ve come so far. remember that its okay. and remember how many times this has happened in the past. you’ll most likely run into this moment with every single project and multiple times at that.

do all of those same steps again. reflect. change it up.

what exactly is the problem and how could it be fixed? (yes, it can be fixed but you might be looking at the problem the wrong way. you need a fresh perspective)

if you still feel like giving up, tell yourself “i can give up if i still want to after this step”

let go of all pressure and think of whatever you’re stuck on. maybe its a plot hole, maybe you cant figure out what should happen next, maybe your characters arent working with you how you want them to. now, without any pressure (just let go, maybe take a break, meditate) just think of the stupidest solutions. think of this project as something that barely matters to you. like it belongs to your friend you’re giving advice to.

i was totally stuck on where i wanted my book to go because no matter what i chose, there was an impossible plot hole i had to solve. that was until i let go of all the pressure and a totally unexpected solution just found me. something id never have come up with if i kept on cracking my brains to the point of hating writing, myself as a writer, the project itself, and everything else for that matter. i took a break, i looked over what i had with a fresh perspective and the starting idea it all sparked from. i realised that i could just switch up some things that i never even thought i could change because they were part of the starting point of the idea. i did what i feared would ruin the entire idea but in reality, it saved the entire book.

remember youre not alone, there have been millions of authors feeling the same way you do now. and you can use that to your advantage. look for other peoples stories and advice. look at interviews of (your favourite) authors (or artists in general), look for tips, reflect on everything, learn through trial, error, and reflection

1. through action, context, and interacting with the world

example: “she ducked through the doorway she’d hit her head on twice already this month.”

tells the reader shes tall without explicitly stating it

example 2: he pushed his glasses up for the third time during the meeting.

the reader immediately knows he wears glasses

process/steps:

1. choose what you want to show (tall)

2. ask yourself how are tall people different, what do they go through, how do they experience the world differently from short people? (might hit their head on things)

3. how can you show it through action? (them ducking through a doorway to avoid hitting their head)

2. select what matters

dont describe every single thing about your character. choose key fratures that reveal something deeper about them

bad: she had dark, straight hair. (this is forgettable and unimportant)

better: she never cut her dark hair. it was the one thing protecting her from the world. she could pull a curtain of it over her face whenever she wanted to disappear.

what to do:

1. choose a trait you want to show (long, dark hair)

2. choose a deeper part that you could reveal through showing that trait (shy, escapinst, sentimental)

3. pov filter

describe appearance through the eyes of whoever is perceiving. this can be a tool to reveal relationship dynamics, or if your character is describing themselves, it can be a way to show how they feel about themselves. (admiration, fear, resentment)

bad: my son was loud.

a mother wouldn't describe her son the way a stranger would. take into consideration their dynamic, her feelings, and the situation.

better: i could hear my sons laughter from the kitchen, making him chocolate pudding. his favourite meal.

reveals the mothers love towards her son

process/steps

1. choose what you want to reveal (mothers love towards her son)

2. consider the situation (son is outside playing, being loud. mother is inside)

3. fit the situation to the feeling (the mother is making her son his favourite meal while listening to his laugher)

if your character is describing a stranger and there is no relationship dynamic to reveal, take into consideration what your character would notice and point out. if they are very neat and judgemental, they might point out the stains and messy hairstyle of someone passing by, they might notice their bad posture—this reveals a lot about your character to the reader and even though it doesnt describe your characters appearance, it gives an idea to who they are and what they might look like based on that (your reader might assume that they have a good posture, neat hair and clean clothes since theyre judging a random person for not having those things) this can also be a good way to show your reader that your protagonist is a hypocrite (make sure they have stains on their shirt while judging a random person for it)

4. space out the physical description throughout the first part of the story instead of listing it all at once

dont just describe your character in specific detail one time and never revisit their appearance/traits again. use context to reveal little pieces every once in a while. the most important physical traits can be in the first quarter of your book. let the reader find out little details and piece together the character throughout the book. you don't always have to give a description for a character to be described. characters are created from their actions, the way others treat them, talk to them, the things they notice and do, etc.

examples:

chapter 1-the group photo pointed out the same sharp jaw and tired eyes shed spent years trying to ignore.

chapter 2-she had her mothers copper-colored hair and her fathers impossible height

5. use other characters and dialogue

your protaganists best friend might point out something about their appearance (a change they notice, something they like about your main character, something your protaganist is not even consciously aware of)

examples:

“you seemed happier when you were still living with your mom”

“dont be silly. of course he wants to go out with you. he likes blondes.”

“i know you’re lying. your nose is doing that weird thing again.”

(these are not necessarily good examples to add straight into a book. theyre just for making my point clear)

my tips for character creation

stop making it hard for yourself, creating characters shouldnt feel impossible. dont use character sheets, especially dont start creating your character with them (why? because you dont need to know their last name or random things they dislike immediately)

‘what to do instead?’ you may ask

start with an idea and let it guide you. this can be anything. a picture of pinterest that sparks something, maybe a tiktok of someone telling a story. anything that gives you a slight image of a possible character

use better guidlelines (astrology, mbti, etc) i always make my characters a birth chart

choose about 3-4 main traits and work off of them (make sure they are different from each other—not happy and joyous but maybe happy and selfish)— how do these traits work together? (for every positive trait, give them a negative trait for example direct but can sometimes seem mean) what are the reasons? the backstory? how do these traits affect them? etc heres a video on youtube related to this

make sure eveything has reason and context (dont just write ‘selfish’, why are they like that?)

talk to yourself as if gossiping to friends about your characters and their backstories. believe it or not thats when the best ideas just find you

want (+reason) versus need (example: want: fitting in, need: accepting themselves for who they are and embracing it)

have a source of inspiration in your notes app, pinterest, tiktok, etc—a list of things that inspire you (character ideas, trait ideas, backstory ideas, habit ideas, people on tiktok that would be great character, etc)

instead of only writing what they're like to you as the author, write how they themselves and other characters perceive them

instead of only writing what they are also write what they are not (dont just list what they are like, write things they would never do, traits that dont associate with them at all) trust me, this helps to get a better idea of your character

an unexpected side of them we dont discover right away (example: the ruthless villain that has a pet cat they absolutely adore and would do anything for) you dont need this but it could be helpful for adding depth

activities once you have an idea of what your character is like

use prompts, quizzes, hypotheticals and let them reveal thenselves more (find these on the internet)

do things as them (make playlists as them, journaling—what do they think about most? what kind of situations make them feel a certain way? what do they notice? how does that make them feel? which themes come up a lot? what do they focus on? what do they fear (subconsciously)? how has their past changed them?) to get their pov straight and find out information about them

list people/characters that remind u of them. archetypes, things, songs, etc

some examples from pinterest

hm. have things that you know about your character that your audience will never know

let your characters reveal themselves once you already have an idea of them. you don’t have to know everything about your character to start writing because you’ll find out the most about who they are how they react in situations while writing

extra resourches that could help you

An essay about love.

Recently, I learned one of the most valuable lessons about love. I fell in love with someone I never would have expected to. He was so far from the type of person I'd have liked to have fallen in love with. He wasn't older than me, he wasn't physically ‘my type’ (before I fell in love with him, that is), he didn't have a stable source of income (or a lot of it), I didn't like the way he dressed, he wasn't exactly romantic or thoughtful. But I loved him anyway. It just happened, and I'm glad it did. Even though as we would say, nothing happened or came from that love we shared for a short amount of time (we didn't end up in a relationship), I got something arguably more valuable out of it: experience, a lesson, a revelation. And I wouldn't have wanted a relationship with him anyway, for not every lover should be a relationship. We have lovers for different purposes. This one was a revelation. And that in and of itself could lead to a future relationship with a person better suited for me and my needs. 

Right after that situation with him, I read the quote “If you have a reason to love someone, you don't love them.” These factors combined made me think. I changed my perspective on love as I knew it, and it worked as inspiration to write this essay.

What even is love?

Love isn't always soft, or loving. Sometimes it's harsh, uncomfortable, sad, unclear, and unfair. Just because a relationship ‘failed’ (as some people might say), doesn't mean it wasn't love. It means that it simply wasn't meant to last forever. Love doesn't have to last to be ‘real’. Most of the time it doesn't. Because that's not what the purpose of love is. There isn't one defined purpose either. There are many, and that's what makes it so hard to determine what was or wasn't love. And the thing is, we don't have to.

We shouldn't try to define love. There is no one size fits all. Love is like an amorphous cloud–different to everyone; different from different perspectives. There are also so many different types of love. Love is an action, but also a feeling, but also an experience. Love is basically everything. We all have our own experiences that lead to different beliefs, opinions, and perspectives on it. It can also be anything you want it to be.

The purpose of love in your life

We all look at love differently. It's so important to ask ourselves what purpose love serves in our life. Why do we love? Do we love for the feeling we get from it, or do we love to be loved, or do we love to learn about love and ourselves and the human condition, or do we love to show love to others, or do we love simply because we love love and trust our heart? There are infinite reasons for why one might love. For we all have different experiences and perspectives caused by them. Some reasons may seem less pure than others and may lead us to the realisation that we don't want love at all, instead we want something out of love.

Love serves such a different purpose and role in all of our lives. There are simply no facts when it comes to love. Love is something so much more than that. There are just beliefs that come from experiences. All of our experiences are different. And we are all such different and complex beings that even if all of us had the exact same experience, it still wouldn't be the same experience, for we all see life so differently. And for this reason, other people's opinions and perspectives on love shouldn't matter to us. We shouldn't listen to other people when it comes to love. We should trust our own hearts instead. For it is our heart that knows best.

  I look at love as an experience, a possibility. A way to feel excitement and purpose, to express myself, to learn about myself, to learn about other people, to gain inspiration, to have fun, to simply love. And that's the perspective I wrote this essay from. If you don't agree, it's totally fine. You don't have to. I think we should never take anything someone else says (on matters like love) as a fact. We should always ask ourselves if we actually agree or do we just take every opinion as a fact, as a rule, instead of reflecting on our own experiences and opinions.

Let yourself love

“Loving someone is never a waste.”

   We come here to learn about love, so let yourself. Let yourself fall in love. Let go of that fear of being hurt. Don't ever avoid loving for a life of avoidance is a life of regret. Look at love as experience, as lessons, as inspiration. Don't ever regret loving. There is no such thing as wasted love. Let your heart guide you. Trust it. 

   Love is one of the most important parts of life. It's so valuable that without it, we simply wouldn't exist. Love is so wonderful. So human. So different. So undefinable. So mysterious. So alluring. So exciting. But it can also be disappointing. That's when expectations come in.

Rules and expectations in love

   There shouldn't be rules to love. We shouldn't have a checklist of expectations that a person must possess in order for us to allow ourselves (or even force ourselves) to love them. Love is more valuable than any traits on a list. We should let ourselves be immersed in love. We should let ourselves love and be loved. 

    We can have types, ideals, but we shouldn't expect them. Expectations are what ruin love. I suppose the best fitting word for these expectations would be unrealistic, but I don't like this word, since I honestly believe everything is possible. The point is, we might be denying ourselves the best experience of our life simply because he isn't six foot or because she isn't blonde. And I don't only mean the superficial expectations, I also mean the ‘valid’ ones like thoughtful, or romantic, or even kind. Loving different kinds of people means different experiences and lessons.

Yes, we might get hurt, but the truth is that love hurts sometimes. There is no avoiding that. Love comes with positives and negatives. That's just something we have to learn to accept. Love isn't perfect. No relationship is perfect. And that's the beauty of it.

   We can have expectations when it comes to a relationship, of course. That is a whole different thing. But as I said before, not every lover is supposed to be a relationship.

In summary:

Expectations in love=bad

Expectations in relationship=good  

ambivalent-having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone (an ambivalent attitude towards him)

amorphous-without clearly defined shape/form/structure (amorphous clouds)

burrow-hide undernreath or press close to something (the cat burrowed under the blankets)

capricious-unpredicatble (your capricious changes of mood drive me crazy)

ceased-come to an end/stopped (after the war, the small kingdom ceased to exist)

demise-the end of something/a persons death (the newspaper reported the sudden demise of the author)

dotty-infatuated with (example: shes dotty about her husband)

eclipsed-to make another person or thing seem much less important, good, or famous (the singer was eclipsed by a younger pop star)

estranged-person no longer close or affectionate to someone (he felt estranged from his old friends after moving abroad)

fanaticism-quality of being fanatical (dangers of religious fanaticism)

love bite-hickey

lull(ed)-send someone to sleep (with soothing sounds or movements)

my personal favourite: mercurial-subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind

mythicize-make (someone or something) the subject of a myth or myths/turn something real into something legendary or myth-like (revolutionary leaders are often mythicized after their deaths)

mystify-bewilder/surprise (someone) // keep something a secret/mystery (his disappearance continues to mystify investigators)

mural-painting/art executed directly on a wall

namesake-person/thing that has the same name as another

novelty-quality of being original, new, unusual (the novelty of the idea attracted a lot of attention)

perpetual-continious, never ending (my love for you is perpetual)

phantom-ghost/figment of imagination/illusinary

poetess-female poet

stupefy-make someone unable to think or feel properly (his attempt to stupefy her with the help of drugs landed him in jail)

seclusion-state of being private or away from others (the artist worked in seclusion for months)

splintered-break into small pieces (their relationship splintered after the argument—metaphorical)

statuettes-small statues/figurines (smaller than life-size)

subterranean-secret, consealed (the city has a subterranean tunnel system)

swoon-be overcome with admiration//faint (from extreme emotion) (my husband who i swoon over)

unequivocal-leaving no doubt (he gave me an unequivocal answer)

unrest-uneasy feeling (I had always attributed any unknown unrest in our home to these drawings)

voyage-long journey involving travel by sea or in space (the ship set out on a long voyage across the atlantic)

wordsmith-a skilled user of words

weep-to shed tears (i weeped in bed thinking about my brothers mysterious demise)

1. write abosolutely everything down. every idea. every word that sounds cool. every quote that pops into your head in the shower. every title. keep every picture and video that inspired you or could inspire you in the future. everythingggggg (i recommend either a section on your notes app dedicated to this or a writers journal) also write down stuff about your own life unrelated to writing

2. the art of noticing and being present. notice the little things. pay attention to details, people. be present. take your time

3. daily meditation to keep your mind open to ideas

4. read books with the perspective of a writer. what did they do? how did they do it? did you like it? how could you use their techniques? write down your opinions and reflections. take your time (again). find your favourite authors and the reason they became your favourites. (i recommend watching youtube videos about how to read like a writer)

5. dont just listen to any tip or advice youre given. think it through. think of examples. does it even work for your type of writing? keep in mine that anybody can say anything. its so important to analyse your own opinions on things

6. experiment. i used to think id write romance and hated sci-fi. guess what i write now? sci-fi. guess what i dont write? romance. this also comes with time. do what feels right at the time and experience will show. dont expect to be perfect as soon as you start. you never will be. nobody is. dont become a perfectionist. practise makes good, not perfect. nothing can ever be perfect. a lot of the most famous authors became famous after they died and someone else published their work that they never released because they were a perfectionist. now everybody loves their work. thats not true either. everybody has a target audience and there isnt even one author that doesnt have people disliking their work. even your favourite authors

7. learn the ‘rules’ to break them. there are no rules per say. you can do whatever. but there are tips, structures and techniques that a lot of writers like to keep in mind while writing

8. make it exist before you make it good. going over to read and fix your writing while writing will only sabotage you. have an idea of what youre writing and where you want to end up and just write. then perfect it later. in layers. the last thing youre going to fix are the sentences

9. read books about writing, watch videos about writing but again keep in mind tip number 5 (i recommend the book story genius) also i have a collection of favourites on tiktok full of writing advive ive found helpful (my username is corpseprize and the collection is called ‘writing content’)

10. read. read. read and read even more. same with writing. write, write and write even more. you learn through experience way more than trying to memorise every single ‘rule’ and piece of advice of the craft of writing

hm. surround yourself with writers and creatives and dont be afraid to ask for help

hm 2. you need exactly 0$ to be a writer. you dont need to buy anyones course that promises to make you a bestseller. you dont need a new fancy device for writing. you can find everything youll ever need and more for free on the internet. and you can write for free on so many different websites but i personally recomend writing by hand