#writeblr support

okay but can we talk about writing advice that actually made my writing worse for a second

like not in a “this is bad advice for everyone” way in a “this absolutely sabotaged me personally” way

because ??? some of this set me BACK

1. “show don’t tell” (taken too literally) this one almost ruined my prose

i got so scared of “telling” anything that every sentence turned into… over-explained action

instead of writing:

she was nervous

i’d write:

her fingers tapped against the table, her leg bouncing, her breath uneven, her gaze flickering toward the door--

and it just KEPT GOING

like yes, showing is important but at some point you’re not “immersive” you’re just exhausting

2. “cut all adverbs” this made my writing feel so stiff it hurt

i started replacing simple phrasing with weird, clunky sentences just to avoid using one single “-ly” word

like… why am i doing gymnastics to avoid “quietly”

no one is giving out medals for adverb avoidance 😭

3. “write every day no matter what” this one burned me OUT

because instead of listening to my brain when it was fried, i forced myself to produce words i knew weren’t going anywhere

and then i’d reread it later and hate everything i wrote

which made me want to avoid writing even more

consistency matters, yes but forcing it when you’re running on fumes just trains you to associate writing with dread

4. “plan everything before you start” this killed my excitement SO fast

i’d spend weeks outlining every detail and by the time i actually started writing…

the story already felt “done” in my head

no curiosity left. no momentum.

now i leave gaps on purpose so i actually want to keep going

5. “make your writing sound pretty” this is the one that made my writing feel the most fake

i was so focused on making sentences sound “good” that i stopped focusing on what was actually happening

everything turned vague. floaty. kind of… nothing

like yeah it sounded nice but nothing hit

now i care way more about clarity and impact than sounding impressive

6. “your first draft should be terrible” okay this one is half true but also messed with my head

because i took it as: “don’t even TRY”

so i’d write things i knew weren’t working and just leave them

instead of… fixing them a little? making them better?

your draft doesn’t have to be perfect but it also doesn’t have to be painful to read 😭

idk i think the biggest thing i’ve learned is:

advice isn’t universal

what helps one writer can absolutely wreck another

so if something is making your writing worse, harder, or more miserable

you are allowed to drop it. immediately.

no guilt. no “but everyone says this works”

like okay… it doesn’t work for ME.

✨You haven’t “let your audience down” for not updating in a while.

✨You aren’t a bad person for writing about problematic content.

✨You can always take a break from your writing, even if it’s for a significant amount of time.

✨You can always leave a project, work on something else, and come back to it later.

✨You aren’t a “bad writer” for only having a few projects.

✨You aren’t a “bad writer” for only having a lot of projects.

✨You aren’t a “bad writer” if you decide to only write about things that are important to you.

✨You don’t owe anyone continuous updates for a project.

Haven't written in a while due to life or burnout? Good on you for taking time for yourself and to do other things. Treat yourself

Wanting to write but haven't because you've decided to do other things? Treat yo god damn self

Been writing books/screenplays/fanfiction and finished several? Go on and treat yourself, you deserve it

Managed 200-500 words? Treat yourself.

Treat yo god damn self for every little miracle, every little step. Writers are wonders and you are amazing

I love you. I love your work. What I'm about to tell you comes from a place of love.

Learn how to edit. It's different than writing. It requires a more detached outlook. It's hard. It'll make you sad. It's necessary.

I know an editor. She's willing to edit my work for publication. Like, full on "I'll help you make this good." not just a glorified spell check and grammar checker.

She charges between 1 and 3 cents per word. 1 cent per for works that are "broadly ready to go" and 3 cents for works that need more help.

Assuming a novel that's around 120k words (my last novel) you're looking at Thirty Six Hundred Dollars for editing at 3 cents a word and $1200 if it's a penny a word.

All this is to say, that the more work you do on your own to edit your work, the cheaper it'll be to get your work published.

It might make you disheartened to see how much it costs, I know it did for me. But also remember that paying people what they're worth is important too. "But I simply can't afford it."

I feel you.

This is where it's worthwhile to learn about editing yourself and learn to edit your own work. That's not to say you shouldn't have other people read it, you absolutely should.

Getting a book published is hard. It's expensive. It's not fun. But, if you want to be published, either self or through a more traditional means, it's necessary.

Hello again.

I really didn't know if I wanted to do this again, since I did this before about a year ago, but right now I just want to explore my options.

I have been working on my main WIP for a few years now, but the biggest issue with getting it out is that it’s been stuck in editorial hell. I have now cycled through four editors, my most recent having to step off after a year of on-and-off work due to stuff in their personal life.

The WIP is called Afterlife. If I were to put genres to it, I’d say that it’s mainly in the realms of post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, action, supernatural/superpower, with a lot of elements taken from RPG video games, American superhero comics, Japanese anime/manga, and world mythology/religion/folklore/etc..

The basic gist of the story/setting is that it takes place in the distant future, thousands of years after multiple portals opened up above Earth’s most populated cities and demonic entities descended down wiped out most of humanity, humanity actually managed to survive and rebuild society underneath giant-force fields of energy called “Domes”. The main plot follows a group of teenagers who are able to summon demons through the use of technology and use them to combat threats to society (i.e in this first book they [mostly] fight their school's corrupt student council).

I actually finished the first book well over a year ago now, again it's just been stuck in this limbo state. It currently sits at fourteen chapters, fifteen counting the quick interlude chapter that my previous editor had me write. My previous editor actually got pretty far. They read up to chapter nine and left comments/notes on all of them, and then we went over chapters one-five and parts of six and seven together in discord calls, so I'd say that a good bulk of the work is actually kind of done. It's just a matter of finishing up the last couple of chapters.

What I’m looking for is someone who I can potential work with long term, or at least help me finish stuff up and then help me find someone for the long term.

If payment is required that’ll have to be discussed, because I have no source of income at the moment. I'm an unemployed college dropout, and I really want to make my artistic endeavors my careers. My idea has always kind of been that once I actually start putting the book out, I can give you a cut of the of the profits or something like that. The other idea I've had is maybe working out a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" type of deal, where if you edit my stuff, I can look at and edit your stuff as well.

Every day I think.

Always about it.

Every day I blink.

Always getting hit.

Getting hit with the emotions.

The emotions of life.

Life is moving like the oceans.

Oceans sharp like a knife.

Am I meant to feel like this?

I could never know.

Because whenever I feel bliss

it's like I'm covered with snow.

Even if snow can be pretty.

Even if snow can be joy.

It can still suffocate me.

It can still make me destroy.

Destroy my own.

Destroy everyone else's.

Destroying what?

Everything you can see...

15/5 2023

“now I lay me down, lay me down to sleep, I pray to thee, pray my soul to keep”

For my first ever attempt at digital art I decided to draw Fennrin from @dragonthusiast​ upcoming Nightstar trilogy, because he is such a great character and I love him so much. His book 2 toxic relationship arc will be the most delicious thing you’ll ever read—and this fanart depicts the symbolism of it.

You can find out more about Nightstar in this post, which you should DEFINITELY check out, if you like this silly little art piece (you should check out Nightstar even if you didn’t like my art). You can also learn more about the characters here.