#on writing
Am I wrong though?
Have created a new novel-writing approach for myself that I am calling Very Gentle Writing. Very Gentle Writing is an approach for people who live nearly every waking second in self-castigation and actually need peaceful slowness to unleash their creativity.
Very Gentle Writing does not set staggering word count goals and then feel bad about it. No! Very Gentle Writing for me sets an extremely low word count and then feels magnificently productive when the low bar is exceeded (which is easy…it’s a low bar, I mean really low).
Very Gentle Writing is about saying hey yo maybe I just want to listen to a chill playlist for a while and feel one sentence spill out. Go me!
Very Gentle Writing is kind of about realizing I have a really limited amount of time to write in between work, and adulting, and taking care of a thousand life responsibilities, and trying to heal&deal from trauma in 2020. So I want that writing time to be….just…..nice.
Very Gentle Writing means I have a goal of enjoying every single time I sit down to write. Really. I use all the fun words first.
Very Gentle Writing came to me as an idea when I started to think about how as someone actively trying to recover from a lot of lifelong trauma, the usual word harder!! Work harder!! mantras in the world of “people doing hard things” didn’t motivate me at all, they only hurt me. I truly need a voice saying work less hard, personally.
i have just stumbled upon the most beautiful public document i have ever laid eyes on. this also goes for anyone whose pastimes include any sort of character creation. may i present, the HOLY GRAIL:
https://www.fbiic.gov/public/2008/nov/Naming_practice_guide_UK_2006.pdf
this wonderful 88-page piece has step by step breakdowns of how names work in different cultures! i needed to know how to name a Muslim character it has already helped me SO MUCH and i’ve known about it for all of 15 minutes!! i am thoroughly amazed and i just needed to share with you guys
Cultures include Yoruba, Sikh, Vietnamese, Polish, and dozens more!
Oh snap, this is AWESOME.
WHY YOU SHOULD WRITE HORRIBLY:
1. You’ll never write anything if you don’t
I don’t know what writer needs to hear this
but you can write something very plain.
You don’t have to write some genre-redefining masterpiece. You can write a story about two people very simply falling in love. You can just write a story about a person going to the store. You could, if you were so inclined, just re-write Star Wars but like, make all the names start with M.
Don’t let the fear of not-writing something transcendent stop you from just writing.
i take hiatuses from my writing fairly often. i was on one for the last few months. i leave my art and get distracted by other things for days or weeks or months. sometimes i’m out doing things. living, experiencing. other times, i’m spending time with a different art form or a different hobby. maybe i’m spending more time with my camera, maybe i’m reading, maybe i’m catching up on tv, maybe i’m learning something new. and when i look back and realize i’ve left writing behind, i often get frustrated with myself. why didn’t i just keep doing it? why did i just abandon it like so many times before that? but i have to remind myself, all that time spent doing other things has value. i’m gathering experiences, memories, inspiration, or new skills to come back with when i start writing again. or, maybe whatever is inside me needs to be created in another way. maybe it’s something that can only be expressed through visual art, or through music or through connection with other people. whatever the reason, i’m never abandoning art. i’m always returning after a long journey with something new to say.
Reasons to be confident about your writing
- You’ll be a happier writer
- You’ll want to write more
- You can look at your writing and say “this is good.”
- You can forget that you wrote it and get mad when you see that the next chapter isn’t up yet
- Because you’re creating characters
- Because you’re creating worlds, societies, cults, or whatever it is you’re creating
- Because you created something out of nothing
- Because not everyone can do what you do
- Because you wrote it
- Because it’s your story
- Because you’re a good writer
- Because you’re awesome
just so yall know
art block is your brain telling you to do studies.
draw a still life. practice some poses. sketch some naked people. do a color study. try out a different technique on a basic shape.
art block doesnt stop you from drawing, it stops you from making your drawings look the way you want them to. and thats because you need to push your skills to the next level so you can preform at that standard
think of it as level grinding for your next work.
As a scientific illustrator- this is 100% true and going to review your basics will fix it every goddamn time. Not only does it keep your skills sharp, when you’re not emotionally invested in the final product of a piece, you relax and your brain makes more/better art juice for you. So, when you get back to that big/important piece? You’ll know what to do and how to do it.
Nothing in nature blooms all year round. Rest, and take care of yourself.
i want someone to put this into writer’s blocks now
Writers block version.
Writer’s block tells you you’re not good enough. (putting aside the sort that comes from exhaustion, depression etc. I’m talking about work based blocks here) So stop being afraid.
Collect reference material. Pick up books that you admire, that execute the techniques well. Transcribe them, word for word. Own the scene by writing it out with your own hands.
Journal. Make observations about the world around you. Describe your immediate vicinity using all 5 senses.
Try a different form. Write a poem. A short story. A character study. Write it from the perspective of another character.
And then when you return to your work it will have a depth you’re barely aware of and the words will flow.
(Do it now.)
(Do it often.)
(Do it in multiple places.)
Grand List of Writing Resources
I will link each category post here as I add more and I will continue to update it.
as a fanfic writer, the best thing you can do for yourself is invest in the stories you want to read. don’t think about what will get popular, because it will make you miserable. write about what means the most to you. if you want to write pure smut, do it. if you want to make intricate worlds and complex characters, do it. write and write and write. contrary to popular belief, good art does not have to make you suffer. all my very best work is the stuff that i enjoyed writing
Nobody tells you that 90% of being a fic writer is telling yourself sternly that you CANNOT start a new wip until you finish one of the old ones, and then failing to write anything at all as your brain sulks like a toddler.
“Paul Valéry also described his perception of first lines so vividly, and to my mind so accurately, that I have never forgotten it: the opening line of a poem, he said, is like finding a fruit on the ground, a piece of fallen fruit you have never seen before, and the poet’s task is to create the tree from which such a fruit would fall.”— Mary Ruefle, On Beginnings from Madness, Rack, and Honey (via wethinkwedream)
So last week I tried moaning every time I ate something delicious.
It was vaguely uncomfortable and unnatural
I actually love the idea of doing this trying out fanfic/literary cliche’s out in real life, kinda wanna make up a list and undertake it as a challenge.
don’t forget to make your butthole flutter today
Guess someone’s eye color from 20 feet away.
Be careful with these. I started reading fanfiction three years ago and now I have to toe my shoes off to get my feet out.
But do you pad across rooms?
Yes but I often give away my position when I huff.
FYI, I’m smirking at all y’all.
I’m resisting the urge to card my fingers through everybody’s hair.
This is as good a time as any to admit that right now I smell like coffee, sandalwood soap, and something uniquely myself.
I hate this post so much I clenched my fists and looked away, muscles bunching in my jaw.
i’m so glad to see i’m not alone, i let out a breath i didn’t know i was holding
I’m grinning widely at this
I chuckled lightly upon reading this post.
me, managing to write one (1) coherent sentence: