the universe may not care but i do

“you’re my best friend, now i’ve got no one to tell i’ve lost my best friend.”

✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.

✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.

✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.

✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.

✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.

✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.

✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.

✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.

✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.

have fun

write whatever is interesting to you, even if it won’t be interesting to anyone else

appreciate kudos when they come, but don’t expect them

appreciate comments when they come, but don’t expect them

if you wish you could just write that one scene you have in your head, do that. you don’t need to create a 30K backstory for it first.

embrace one shots

embrace drabbles

embrace writing your story out of order

rough drafts are meant to be rough. if you can’t think of a word, put in a placeholder for it and keep going. 

try not to get stuck on the little things

it’s okay if your readers can’t see the picture inside of your head

some people work well when they have a posting schedule. some people work well when they don’t. it’s okay if you don’t know which kind of person you are, and it’s okay if the type of person you are changes over time.

if a rule you created for yourself isn’t working for you, get rid of that rule.

make fandom friends. even if they don’t read your fic, they’ll cheer you on while you write it.

cheer on other writers you know. you’ll be cheering yourself at the same time.

no trope or genre is better or worse than another one. they all just appeal to different audiences.

quality and popularity are not the same thing, although they do sometimes overlap

numbers and statistics will never tell you whether or not you’re a good writer. they will never tell you how valuable you are as a person. 

you belong in fandom if you want to be there

you’re a writer as soon as you start writing things

writing and posting are two different things. your story is still worth writing, even if you never plan to share it

you don’t need to apologize for what you write or what you post. 

don’t worry about taking up too much space. the internet doesn’t have a maximum size. 

keep your readers in mind when you’re tagging your content. how could they search for your fic? if you use a tag, will be a reader who loves that tag be satisfied with how much it appears in your story?

if you have a relationship in your fic that plays a minor role, tag it in the Additional Tags section instead of the Relationship section so that people who love that ship don’t get their hopes up

be cautious when looking at bookmarks on your fic. they aren’t “extra comments.” that’s a space where readers make notes for themselves and each other, not for authors. 

you don’t need to know everything about canon before you start writing fic

you don’t need to read fic in the same fandoms you write for

you don’t need to read fic at all in order to write it

love your work because sometimes you’re the only one who will - and that’s okay

if your hobby starts feeling like a job, you might need to take a break before you get burnt out

if you get stuck on a story, you can always start a new one

if you fall out of love with a story, you can always stop writing it. if you’re worried about your readers, you can always give them a bullet point summary of where you were planning to go with thing. for a lot of people, that’s satisfying and provides closure

if you get hate, report it

use the tools at your disposal to block hate before it can come in (limiting or turning off comments, limiting or turning off asks, blocking users, etc)

try replying to comments sometimes. it can be a lovely way to make fandom friends

don’t be afraid to reblog your own writing posts.

if you get stuck on your summary, just write 1) who the story is about 2) what they are doing and 3) what problem gets in their way

notice when your writing makes you smile. that moment is a gift. enjoy it.

notice when your writing makes you cry. that moment is a gift, too.

even if you’re disappointed in how your story turned out, there’s something in there that’s fantastic. find that thing and focus on it and feel proud.

some ideas are ones you want to write. some are ones you want to read. if you ever have too many ideas to deal with at once, give some of the latter ones away to someone else. 

sometimes the things you write will be really personal. be careful about putting them where other people can comment. they won’t know how personal it is for you, and you need to remember that comments aren’t about you, they’re about the story.

remember that you can write series as well as stories. if the story is done but you still have passion or ideas, start a new one in the same universe.

enjoy the satisfaction of finishing a story. savour it. bask in it a little while.

don’t feel guilty about abandoning a story. not every story gets finished, and that’s okay

you can have separate accounts for different fandoms. you can have one account with a million fandoms in it. do whatever works for you.

sometimes writing is more important than sleep - but only sometimes

it doesn’t matter if that story has been written before by someone else. it doesn’t matter if it was written by you. write it again.

and lastly.

As a storyteller, I want to be able to write diverse characters, and I want to be able to portray them well and with dignity, but I've found that a bit difficult when I myself am a very white woman living in a very white state and have been surrounded predominantly by other very white people most of my life.

Watching media created by Black people and following Black creators online. There are plenty of movies and TV shows and such by Black folk over the years that you can find. I know I have folks that I watch on YouTube, that I follow on IG, even my peers on here. It's about being purposeful.

And before someone says it. No, it's not racist to say "hey I don't know anything about the Black community, let me seek them out so I can learn about and support them". What IS racist is demanding that those people then teach you about themselves like they're monkeys in a zoo exhibit once you show up. They're already talking about things and posting it- take the time to listen!!! Be quiet and listen!!

It’s not about darkness. It’s about a precise use of habits and small things, their behaviour both when acting the villain and not.

1. Give them a contradiction.

Villains are scariest when they’re almost human. It's alot harder to harm, or even kill, when you can the part of them that is kind.

“He always apologised before hurting someone.”

2. Let them think they’re right.

No moustache twirling ('mustache twirling villain' is often used as a pejorative to describe poor antagonists/bad guys, usually they in comedy) — just conviction. Their ideals and values should stem from something important to them. Doesn't have to be important or make to others, just them.

“I’m not saving the world. I’m correcting it.”

3. Give them a normal habit that becomes unsettling.

• humming off-key

• straightening objects mid-argument

• collecting people’s abandoned pens (this was something I got from primary school where I watched someone collect them and i thought it was evil they were stealing pens😭)

4. Make their kindness selective.

Kind to dogs. Cruel to friends.

Kind to children. Absent to their own.

This really adds to their character and backstory, even if you don't elaborate or tell it.

5. Make their presence change a room.

Not with theatrics — with tone.

“The laughter thinned when he stepped inside.”

Making antagonists who aren’t evil (but still hurt you emotionally)

Some of the best antagonists are just… people.

1. Give them the same goal as the hero — different methods.

Hero wants peace.

Antagonist wants peace.

Hero uses unity; antagonist uses control.

2. Let the antagonist be right sometimes.

That stings.

3. Make the hero almost agree with them.

“You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “But you’re not right either.”

4. Show glimpses of softness.

“He tucked the child’s drawing into his coat.”

5. Let them break their own rules.

Instant complexity, villains change the rules to fit their momentary desires and whims.

(Edit: ive written this up from a book that ive been filling with writing tips and tricks from classes, im putting here a few pages from it

So I get it, I need to change how I format things 😭)