#writer tip

Fun fact for writers who use Microsoft Word (or Google Docs, I'm sure it has this too), books aren't printed in the portrait document size!

If open one of your projects on Word, go to Layout -> Size, then click "A5" on the drop down menu, it will reveal just how long your WIP actually is.

[@/moonlit_sunflower_books on ig]

one of the most common writing tips that i come across is "don't use adverbs" or "adverbs make your writing weak" and i completely disagree. i actually love a good adverb, but the key word here is a good adverb.

when not to use adverbs: adverbs are meant to describe verbs, but verbs are often descriptive themselves. it's better to say "he crept" than "he walked stealthily" and it's better to say "they grinned" than "they smiled happily". if the verb itself describes the action, don't add yet another descriptor - it'll just make your writing heavy.

when to use adverbs: if there is a contradiction between the verb and the description, or if the adverb adds something to the verb that was not initially obvious, then use the adverb. for example, say "she smiled sadly" because this is a contradiction and displays a very different emotion from "she smiled". or, if you want to display a certain character trait, say "he smiled lazily".

another example of a bad adverb could be "they whispered softly". this is unhelpful because whispers, by definition, are soft. however, if you use "said softly", it could be helpful. there are many synonyms for "said softly" that could be equally effective. but often this particular phrase denotes a gentleness and possibly seductiveness, depending on context.

I love the trope where a character is having a bad day, like stupid small things that add up. Causing them to just want the day to end, then at the end of the day either one of two things happen. All those stupid little things are nothing compared to the bomb about to hit, or they’re friend and family were planing something cool and all that sadness and anger dissipates. 

I don’t know why I love this so much. But I always struggle to find small frustrating things that haven’t been done a million times before. So this is a resource for me to list of some ideas. 

-Washing your hair but not completely washing out the shampoo. Mostly for character’s with thicker hair, this kills me. I think I got it all but an hour or so after my shower I run my fingers through my hair and under my nails is the creamy texture of shampoo or conditioner. So frustrating. A bad start to the day. 

-Being interrupted. Whether you’re taking some time to read, doing important homework, trying to play the piano, having someone interrupt you, innocently perhaps but repeatedly, is so frustrating. Sometimes this can cause a five minute task to become an hour long. It can completely ruin that bit of free time you had. 

-There being a constant flow of noise when you just want some peace and quiet. You’re in your room, you just want to read, but you can heard children screaming on the street, there’s some cars in the distance honking at each other, you’re roommates are arguing again, your upstairs neighbour is walking around with heels on. Perhaps it’s not even that noisier, but it just never stops, and you begin to feel overwhelmed. All you want is some peace and quiet. But peace and quiet never comes. Because in this neighbourhood, even at four in the morning the sound of the police and the arguments never end. 

-Having a long list of tasks to do, a holiday or something coming up that’s perfect to do it all, and then being ill during that holiday. That feeling of hopelessness as you stare down that list and try to figure out if any of the tasks are easy enough to do despite your exhaustion, not being able to even rest because you’re so stressed with the upcoming tasks. Having the illness hold onto your for longer because as soon as you begin to recover you have to work and lose sleep and eat less. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, but it just is.

-Your usual form of transport is unavailable. Perhaps it’s raining so you can’t walk. Perhaps the battery is dead on your electric scooter. Perhaps there’s a strike and the busses are down. Whatever the case, figuring out how to get somewhere when you had a perfectly good system, having to leave earlier than usual or worse of all, leaving on time but arriving late, are all frustrating.