A Guide to Slashing Word Count

A while back, I posted a compilation of advice that I’d received from other writers before trying to cut down my 120,000 word YA fantasy manuscript. Six months later, it’s at 100,000 – a far more acceptable number. It was a brutal task, but a necessary one and I’m here to share the key strategies that helped me cut the big chunks:

• Cut Characters – Big cast? Remove subplot-only bois and mains who either don’t influence the plot or whose role could be carried out by another.
• Cut Scenes – If they don’t directly advance the plot, cut completely. If they serve some purpose, try merging scenes to reduce intro/outro/location content. One long scene is shorter than two short scenes.
• Reduce Locations – Within a chapter, visit as few locations as possible to avoid extra descriptions. This is also relevant across the book, as you won’t need to go into detail about a location more than once.
• Cut Pre Scene and Post Scene – This can either be by starting the scene later (getting straight to the point) and ending it earlier or condensing the pre and post scene content. As a rule of thumb, a pre-scene should be 500 max.
• Have Clear Motivations – If your characters’ motivations are too complex, explaining/showing them will take up too much space. Nuance can grow over time.
• Get to the Heart of Your Story – Carrying on from the last point, maybe try writing a pitch and synopsis so that you better understand what’s at the heart of your story, that way you can whittle down anything outside of that with the brutality needed for reducing word count.

Now, go forth and kill your darlings!

Then come back for part 2 where I’ll be talking about the line-level (micro) cuts that really do add up!

Tips for New Writers

After some time off to finish uni and recover, the writing tips are back! I had some requests for this post so whether you’re new to writing or looking to start, here are my top tips.

1. Start a Passion Project

If you’re hung up over your first story getting published, you’ll start to hate it. Your first project should be something you love enough to finish it for you. I honestly recommend fanfiction as it’s a great way to get early feedback and become used to critique, but an own story is just as good as long as you join a critique group.

2. Join a Writing Community

Whether that’s on Instagram, Tumblr, a real-life society, or somewhere else entirely, there are many reasons to join the writer’s community with a platform of your own. It’s the best way to find Critique Partners (CPs), Beta Readers, as well as a wealth of tips that will improve your writing.

3. Explore Planning Methods

You’ll need to use trial and error to decide what works best for you. Try fully outlining, diving straight in, Beat Sheets, Flash Cards, Ten Steps Ahead, or even just making lists of what you want to show. One will work for you, but it’s different for everyone.

4.Write

Write as often as you can. Nothing makes writing stronger than practice. It doesn’t have to be “good” or neat or pretty, but words should go on the page. Don’t let your insecurities keep you from filling that blank page.

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Looking to develop your villain further? Trying to build a villain for the first time?  Look no further for here is a simple guide to building a fearsome villain for your story. Disclaimer: I’m a fantasy writer, this will be fantasy based. 

Step 1: Choose a Motivation

While this can be anything, some common motivations are: Power, Legacy, Revenge, Respect, Protectionism, Hate, Love, Indifference, Drive for Utopia, and Infliction of Pain. Now you might be thinking I can understand why the last one is villainous, but some of the others seem okay! Remember, a villains motivations should be understandable, and their goals can be noble, but it is the means that make them “bad.”

Step 2: Decide if They Really are “Bad” 

Despite my previous statement, some villains are just trying to achieve noble goals by noble means. This is actually a really good way to get your audience thinking about your theme if it ties in well. The flipside of this is my personal favourite – make the heroes bad too. 

Step 3: Design Their Personality 

There are a few traits you’ll want to consider in particular and in the extremes. Make sure to chose the side that your hero will struggle with more. Villains should be handcrafted challengers, designed to ruin your hero. 

• Intelligence vs Stupidity - A villain who can scheme intricate plots is terrifying, but extreme stupidity leads to recklessness and unpredictability, good for control freak heroes. 
• Short Temper vs Controlled Emotions - Short tempered villains are a threat to anyone close to them, while those that can control their emotions can be highly manipulative. 
• Calculated vs Irrational - This again leans into the trade off between the unbeatable factor and the unpredictability factor. Both are equally fearsome.
• Charismatic vs Black Seep – Why do their followers believe in them? Is it because they can talk the hind legs off a donkey or was your villain an outcast come to take their revenge. 

Don’t underestimate the stupid, short tempered, irrational black sheep. They often have intelligent advisors pulling their strings while their stupidity causes chaos like no other. 

Step 4: Ask Yourself Why? 

Not just Why did my villain set out on this path? orWhy don’t they see the harm they’re causing? but also Why have I reached the end of a post specifically using ‘they’ pronouns and imagine a white man with black hair and dark eyes? Because many of you will have done just that, particularly for the intelligent, manipulative villain with more power than you could ever imagine. Ask yourself why intelligent, charismatic villains with goals outside of revenge and love need always be a man. Some villains are just heroes who don’t understood the cost of their actions. Ask yourself why they shouldn’t be diverse and stereotypical caricatures. 

This post is quite long enough. I reckon I’ll do a part 2 if you guys like it :) 

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We’ve all been there. Some people have it all the time. Some say it doesn’t exist. I class writer’s block as anything from lack of motivation to not being able to solve a plot problem. Whatever it is, here’s a list of activities to try and get those creative rivers running. 

1. Move. Pick up your laptop and go to a different room. They say a change is as good as a rest and this can be true with writing. Move to the kitchen. Write outside. Go to a coffee shop. Sit in the cupboard under the stairs and block out the world. Just change up the scenery. 
2. Swap Medium. If words just aren’t doing it for you make aesthetics, mood boards, draw maps or characters. Victoria Aveyard once said she designed book covers and let the plot stew in the back of her mind. 
3. Write Something Else. Working on other projects can give you inspiration for what you’re working on now. Find some prompts. Write irrelevant short stories or character studies. Write about your characters as kids or at defining points in their lives. 
4. Plot. Hands off the keyboard, open up one of those many unused notebooks I know you have and start scribbling vague, half formed ideas. Allow yourself to write things you might discard later. Allow yourself to try and work through an idea you like but don’t understand yet. Try and work out the next 10 steps. 10 things you want to cover. 10 scenes. 10 days. Whatever it is, just write it down. 
5. 20 Minutes Rule. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Sit your butt down in that chair and write for 20 minutes. I don’t care if it’s trash. I don’t care if you’re going to delete it all later. I don’t care if it’s nonsense. Do it. 20 minutes of writing nonsense is still more productive than 20 minutes staring at that wall. After 20 minutes if you still don’t want to write, leave it, but you just might find yourself inspired. 
6. Finally, Take Time Off. If none of this is working, it’s likely a sign of burn out. Take some time for yourself and just do nothing. “Write every single day,” yeah sure if you wont to be a machine who pumps out words instead of art. Sometimes you need to recharge before you move forward and that doesn’t just mean getting a good nights sleep. Look after yourself and be kind. This isn’t a race against the clock, you have your whole life to publish a book. 

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10 Factors of Healthy Relationships

If you’re familiar with my account, you’ll know I talk a lot about toxic relationships in literature, but what, on the flipside, constitutes a healthy relationship? 

1. Trust- If A says they’re going to hang out with friends, B should not be ‘checking up on them’ or demanding texts while they’re away. Jealousy isn’t cute. 
2. Honesty - But, of course, trust needs to be earned. This is with honesty. Lying to protect someone is still lying and that is not a good foundation for a loving relationship. 
3. Independence - In a healthy relationship, both parties have the freedom to do things on their own. Co-dependent situations, even ones built on love, are not healthy.
4. Respect- “I won’t let you do that” –> “I respect you and trust your judgement.”  Even if A doesn’t like B’s decision, they should have enough respect for one another to discuss the decision until both parties understand one another. 
5. Communication- If you want to discuss decisions you’re going to need good communication. Arguments don’t need to be screamed in a “passionate rage” for things to be said with emotion and heart. Yes people get emotional, but that is not the time to discuss important things. 
6. Equality - Power imbalances can lead to toxicity. If both parties have mutual respect and understanding for one another, this can be avoided, but the 200 year old immortal x the 18 year old girl is a little weird don’t you think? What’s next, 90 year old mortals and 15 year old boy? 
7. Empathy - When arguing, both A and B should be able to empathise with the other. If that means A shelving their agenda so that you can hear B out and then deal with their side later, that’s a healthy approach. 
8. Taking Accountability - Even people in healthy relationships do unhealthy things sometimes. What matters is they take responsibility for it and give meaningful apologies, not grad gifts when they already have a billion dollar trust find. 
9. Comfort- Both A and B should feel comfortable around each other. When they’re reunited after a long day or time apart, they will feel at ease by being around one another, not on edge and fearing an argument. 
10. Fun - Healthy relationships are fun! A&B will have so many in jokes that end in laughing fits. They have things that they love to do together, things that they both love to do. Not A forcing B to watch the notebook on repeat. 

So there you have it, 10 things that make a relationship healthy.

Links to my posts on toxic relationships are below: 

• Romance with Toxic Undertones
• Stop Romanticising Toxic Relationship Red Flags #1
• Stop Romanticising Toxic Relationship Red Flags #2

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Slashing Your Word Count

A guide for over-writers. 

So there I was, sitting in front of my 120,000 word YA Fantasy manuscript having a breakdown. Why? you ask. Well, because I want to be traditionally published and no one will buy a YA debut that long. 

Why not? This answer would a post on its own. Or a 24 minute video. Luckily Alexa Donne has already done that work and you can watch it here. 

Now I’m going to summarise all the advice I was given that had lead to me doing a brutally cut down draft in two sections, the big cuts, macro level, and the small cuts, micro level. 

Micro Level Cuts

1. Reduce each description by 1 or 2 words - @coffee_loving_artist
2. Reduce dialogue. Single spoken words can carry more emotional weight than elongated lines. 
3. Cut down on dialogue and action tags. If it’s clear who is speaking, don’t use anything! - @parisandherbooks
4. Cut repeated sentences. It’s not as dramatic as you think it is. 
5. Simplify convoluted sentences - @jade_d_brown
6. Cut words like very, quite, sort of, kind of, it was, there was, that, now, then, suddenly and any crutch words you have - @just.a_simple_writer
7. Change passive language - @laurenkayzles

Macro Level Cuts

1. Chop off the beginning and the end of long scenes. 
2. Cut info dumps
3. Never get lost in internal monologue. Keep it to a small para at most. 
4. Cut fluff scenes - @teen_writing_101 & @cakeyboy 
5. It doesn’t take 1000 words to make a small point – condense it!!
6. Cut unnecessary dialogue or chit chat 
7. Merge scenes that feel repetitive 
8. Cut the prologue 
9. Cut the epilogue 
10. (Remember that those can go back in after your book has been bought) 
11. If you’re desperate, delete a POV - @thewritingfirebird
12. Ask your Beta’s which subplots/characters could go - @howwhyandsowhat 

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Organic and Natural Characters

We all hate reading characters who feel forced and unnatural, but what can we do to write characters that don’t fall into the trap of acting in line with the plot rather than in an organic way?

The truth is, there is no one way to write natural characters. I did a lot of drama and acting growing up and I find that helps me get into the characters’ heads, but there are many other ways to improve the autonomy of our characters. It’s important to note that this does not just apply to main characters, but to all of your side characters, villains and antagonists as well.

1. Take a Personality Test as Your Character. Taking the 16 personalities test as each of your characters can help you understand how they would react in different situations as it gives a detailed report in how each personality type handles everything from work to romantic relationships. 
2. Give Them a Backstory. For every character, it’s helpful to know how and where they were brought up, what lead them to be part of this book and what their history is with the main character (if they have one). This helps create a character that makes their own decisions, not just ones that benefit the plot, and this makes them feel more real. 
3. Give Them Motivations and Goals. Every character should have their own motivations that are greater than ‘because it’s what their best friend, the main character, wants’. If their motivations and goals differ slightly from the MC’s, all the better and all the more realistic! 
4. Make them flawed. Yes, every single one of your characters needs to be flawed and you should know what their exact flaw is so that you can accurately portray it. This flaw should cause problems for the characters and the plot and it should have a big impact on the story. 
5. Choose their sense of humour. The most vivid characters I’ve read are those with a sense of humour, be that dirty, dark or witty banter, characters who make jokes (even bad ones) are great fun and jump right off the page. 

Hope this helped and feel free to add below! 

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A Guide to Writer Lingo - Drafts

When I was new to the writing community I was confused about what to expect from each draft. When is draft 1complete? Where’s the line between draft 2, 3, 4+? How much editing goes into each one? Does each draft serve a different purpose? Now I’ve been here for a while and on my 3rd draft, I’m ready to answer those questions. 

There are no set rules on drafting.

Everyone’s drafting process is different. Some people move onto draft 2 before even writing an ending to draft 1. Some people like to do a draft 0. Some people call their outline draft 1. What I’m writing below is what I’ve seen to be the most common meanings.

• Beat Sheet - This is written before the outline and follows the Save the Cat! plot structure. It breaks the story down into key plot points, spread out across three acts. 
• Outline -  This can be a written document, a spreadsheet, revision cards on a wall, or not exist at all (shout out to the pansters). This is where the main plot is laid out from start to end, including subplots, and divided into chapters. 
• 0th Draft - Also called a dirty draft, some authors use this name to take the pressure off while drafting. If you struggle to accept that your first draft won’t be as good as you want it to be, it might be worth doing a messy 0th draft that no one but you will ever read. 
• 1st Draft - By the end of the first draft, a book should have every chapter written at least once. The wording might not be perfect, subplots might need consolidating, plot twists might need foreshadowing and clarity might be required on a number of things. Most people share their 1st draft with a critique partner, a first reader or an alpha reader, but personally, I like to ensure contingency in my 2nd draft and then share that.
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th+ Draft - This is where the waters get muddy because every writer does these very differently. I create a new draft every time I do a round of edits from start to finish, chronologically through my book. I also start a new draft on each round of beta reader feedback, but really there are no real rules about drafts 2+ and you can divide them as you see fit.

Which draft do I submit to agents/publishers? 

Again, there are no hard-set rules on this. It is advised that you do not submit your first draft. You should have completed at least one round of edits and have had a few beta readers before submitting to agents as they want clean manuscripts without plot holes, contingency issues, and grammar mistakes. 

I hope this has helped and feel free to add to this below as drafts are hugely subjective!

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Writing In-Between Scenes

Have you ever struggled writing that really quick, yet important conversation between characters? That in-between scene that feels boring because it’s just two character’s talking? Well, there’s actually a really easy fix. 

Keep your characters busy!

Have the conversation over a game of cards or during training. Have them go for a run or talk over dinner. Have them go shopping for ballgowns or dissect dragon entrails for potions class. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing, as long as they’re doing something. This adds depth to your writing, furthers the plot on all fronts and helps avoid White Wall Syndrome. 

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Romance With Toxic Undertones

Toxic and emotionally abusive relationships are hugely overlooked in literature. Many red flags are so romanticised that real people believe these warning signs are actually romantic. Here are a couple of examples and what to try writing instead.

“I can’t live without you!”  

In the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, we see the crazed Norma Desmond telling the much younger Joe that she couldn’t go on without him, that she’d kill herself if he leaves her. Here it’s clearly portrayed as manipulation, but you’ll see many versions of this line in current media pretending to be a declaration of love. Dependency does not equal love and this hugely manipulative sentiment 

Instead try, “You are the best thing in my life.” This retains the sentiment of valuing a significant other, without the threat of what will happen if their love is unrequited. 

“I will not let you do that. End of discussion.” 

Ohhh we see this one a lot in fantasy. A good portrayal of this being toxic is the song ‘mother knows best’ from Tangled, but most of the time when we hear this it’s between a romantic pairing and it’s portrayed as okay when it’s not. It’s is instant shut down of communication presented as being protective. Communication is key for functioning relationships and decisions that affect both parties should be made together. Also, maybe don’t just tell your partner what to do. Just a thought. 

Instead try, “If this is what you really want, I won’t stop you, but can we talk about this first because It worries me when you put yourself in danger.” Please find a better way to word that, but the idea is to keep the ‘I’m really worried about you’ without all the ‘I know better, you don’t get a say.’

“I can’t stand it when you talk to [enter name]”

No, extreme jealousy is not a healthy part of a relationship. it can lead to the victim cutting themselves off from friends to avoid hurting their partner and this isolation makes them easier for their partner to control. Trust is important in relationships, and if the love interest refuses to trust the MC around other boys/girls then they’re being toxic.

If you want a plotline where character X is trying to steal the MC away from their partner try having them bring it up like, “I think X is trying to flirt with you” “Really? I just thought they were being nice.” “I doubt it, but it’s fine. I trust you.” 

If you found this post helpful I have a couple of older ones on red flags that are frequently romanticised. [1][2] 

Disclaimer: I am not a trained relationships counsellor or therapist, I just have experience with toxic relationships and have done researched into the early signs and toxic behaviours. If any of my suggestions are wrong I am open to being corrected, but this is something I wanted to share.  

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Always start with the character! 

As writers, we tend to focus more on the major plot points as these are the things we spend hours pouring over when we write. But for the reader/publisher/agent to care about your book, they first need to care about your character. 

As humans, we value a connection, even with someone fictional. When you open your pitch/synopsis with who your character is and what they value, you allow the reader to root for them, even in the synopsis. 

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Beta readers: welp, you’ve got a problem here.

Me: No I don’t, that’s fine! I don’t know what you’re talking about. 

Beta reader: Okay…

*Ten minutes of silence*

Me: Oh my lord, if you’re gonna go on about it that much, I’ll change it! 

Beta reader: I didn’t–

Me: I’m only doing this for you. Not because you’re right. Or because it’ll make my story infinitely better. No sir. Not because of that. Not at all.

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Now be honest with me, how many beautiful notebooks do you own? How many of them are empty right now? Yes, I know, you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. The perfect story. The time you won’t cross anything out. The time you won’t change a thing. Well that time won’t come and you’re wasting them. *Bops you on the head with a pretty notebook* 

The purpose of a writers journal is not to create artwork worthy of a museum, but to help your ideas flow. Sometimes when writing things down, you can even bounce ideas off yourself! It’s amazing! So stop holding back and give it a go. 

Here are my top tips on journaling: 

• Don’t worry about keeping it neat (as long as you can read it, it’s good)
• Use different notebooks for different things (Plotting, Research, World-building, History, Magic, Religion)
• Use headings so topics are easy to find
• 3am inspo? Write it down! No don’t get your phone out, you want to go to sleep after this. You can develop it in the morning. 
• SketchIf you’re struggling to visualise something in you WIP, sketch it even if you can’t draw. Remember, this is just for you.
• Solving plot holes? Use an idea dump. This is where you just vomit every idea you have to solve it onto the page and then work your way through each option. 
• Write ideas for made up names/words down. Stick every variation you’ve considered on the page and then you can try merging them or you can simply see which one looks best. Bonus points because you can look back on how you cam up with it. 

For editing journals specifically try:

• Make lists of things you still want to ‘show’
• Make lists of things you want to add
• Write down problems you find when reading through, then you get to cross them off when you solve them. 

I hope this was helpful. Leave any additions below!!!

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Things I Enjoy About Having ADHD

Yay! More ADHD inspiration for your characters! 

1. Having lots of energy!
2. (Sometimes) The feeling of hyper-focus 
3. Being creatively impulsive
4. Noticing things others overlook
5. Having big bursts of motivation to do the things I love
6. Having a wild imagination 
7. The speed of my brain on a good day
8. Falling down research rabbit holes
9. And watching YouTube videos about them on double speed (learning twice as much in the same amount of time!)
10. And finally hoarding this vast collection of random information for use in my book or a pub quiz.

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[Disclaimer: Everyone’s ADHD is different, this is not a blanket list of things that everyone with ADHD will experience. Also experiencing these things does not mean you have ADHD, please consult a professional before self-diagnosing.]

Who’s the Hero of Your Story?

One mistake new writers make (myself included) is not identifying a central protagonist or even selecting the wrong POV character. This problem is particularly prevalent in multi-POV manuscripts. 

Why do I need to select one central hero?

The simple answer is that the readers need a grounding point; a character who they can read a blurb about and begin rooting for before they even read the first page. 

When you’re trying to juggle more than one hero, you can lose your audience as it’ll take them a lot longer to become invested. It can also be difficult to drive home a theme and this can leave readers feeling unsatisfied. 

But how do I work out which of my main characters is the true hero?

I’m so glad you asked. Try answering these three questions:

1. Who has the most character development, overcoming their flaws? 
2. Who has the most agency? 
3. Who stands to lose the most when the stakes rise? 

If you still have more than one character in mind, maybe think about how that will impact your reader’s experience. As always, writing advice is subjective, but lets take a look at a few multi-POV examples.

Examples of Multi POV, Single Hero: 

• Serpent and Dove - Lou le Blanc
• Six of Crows - Kaz Brekker
• Game of Thrones Book 1 - Ned Stark 
• Eleanor and Park - Park
• Legend - Day 

Though we love hearing from other POV’s, at the end of the day we are still backing the hero. It’s fun to understand other points of view, but if you don’t focus on one character’s wants and needs then you dampen the conflict.

Hope this has helped! 

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Sounds silly doesn’t it? ‘Of course I understand my book’, I hear you say, I would have said the same before. You might be right, but here is a very simple exercise/test to ensure that you do:

One line summaries. 

Previously, these words invoked a feeling of dread in my soul but they don’t need to! It all changed once I started to follow this easy structure:

While struggling with their everyday life, Character finds the catalyst; BUT when the stakes rise they must learn the theme before the consequences ruin their life. 

Let’s take The Hunger Games for example: 

With her family on the brink of starvation, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen must leave them and take her sister’s place in the Hunger Games, an annual event where 24 teenagers fight to the death until only one survives; But when she is hunted by a pack of elite, highly trained tributes, she must learn who she can trust and form an alliancebefore they kill her and her family are left to rot.

Well damn, that sounds dramatic and enticing, but it also lays out our characters life, wants and challenges all in a single (albeit rather long) sentence. 

After writing my one line summary, I began to understand my plot in a much clearer light. I understand my theme, my focus and it allows me to ground my plot as I edit my manuscript. I only wish I’d known to do it before!

Whatever stage your at—drafting, editing, querying—I highly recommend you give this a try. Feel free to drop a one sentence summary of your WIP below as getting feedback is always really helpful! I’m there much could be done to improve the one line summary I’ve given above, so feel free to improve on that too. 

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Writing With No Motivation

I wrote my first draft in three months. All 110,000 words of it. I have ADHD, so concentration isn’t easy for me and during this time I was working a full time job. I wrote in evenings and on weekends, and you can bet I didn’t feel motivated to write every single day, but I did and I’m here so tell you how.

1. Have a set time to write. 

I committed myself to an hour of writing daily in which I would bash out 1,000 words. Getting into a routine helped me write even when I didn’t really feel like it, I just became used to writing at this time every day. If you can’t do 1,000 words in an hour, that’s okay. Set a time goal instead of a word count goal, I find that allows me to put extra energy into concentrating as I know when it will end.

2. Remove distractions from sight.

Object permanence is a myth. Put your phone in the next room, or under your pillow when you’re at your desk, put it on absolute silent. Get noise-cancelling headphones to block out kids/siblings. If you get an impulse to do something, write it down and do it after. Turn your wifi off and only turn it back on for research purposes.

3. 20 minute sprints

On days when you really don’t feel like writing, set a 20 minute timer and a minimum word count of 200 words. Bash that out and if you’re not in the flow after 20 minutes, stop, but you might find you are, so carry on until it ends! Remember, any no. of words a day is better than 0.

4. Get a Concentration Candle

The candle is only allowed to be lit while you’re concentrating. If you get distracted, you have to blow it out and that’s kinda sad. Also if it’s scented you’ll start to associate the smell with concentrating and writing and that will help you feel ventured and focused. Idk why this works so well, but it really does, trust me.

5. Work out where the scene/chapter/act/story is going.

One of my biggest deterrents for writing is not knowing what to put on the page next. I struggle to do both pretty words and developing a good plot at the same time. So I block out the scene, I plot, I get excited about the rest of the book, I make sure this scene or chapter is important! This never fails to motivate me.

I hope this has helped! Feel free to add to this!

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Good beta readers are a life saver and you cannot convince me otherwise

Does anyone else just sit on their first draft because they’re too scared of it being bad to edit it?

And then when you’re editing it and realise it’s not that bad, but you become too scared that beta readers will hate it to send it to them?

And then when they read it and like it you’re just kinda in shock? 

Cos that’s my whole mood rn

This is perhaps one of my favourite writing topics. Personally, I always try to leave each chapter on a small cliffhanger. Something that makes the reader want to read on when it’s 1am and they know they should put the book down. To do this effectively you have to know the difference between cliffhangers that raise the stakes and cliffhangers for shock factor. 

The Shock Factor Cliffhanger

We’ve all seen this before. The chapter/book is coming to end and in a last ditch attempt to keep you interested the writer adds a completely unrelated, highly shocking, plot disrupting event.

While the key to a keeping reader interested in a series is to leave them with questions, shock factor cliffhangers feel like a cheap trick that only leaves the reader unsatisfied.  

Does this mean you should avoid shock factor cliffhangers? NO! Just don’t rely on it being the only thing that keeps your reader tethered to your story. 

Take The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, because that was a shock factor cliffhanger and half, but there were other stories left unfinished, other characters we were worried about, other questions we had that demanded answers. Which brings me onto the next kind of cliffhanger. 

The Stake Raising Cliffhanger

A far more subtle form of cliffhanger (and the kind I try to leave at the end of almost every chapter) is one that raises the stakes of the story. It proves a point to each chapter, which helps you as the writer to decide which chapters are needed and which are not. 

This can be anything, small or large. They find a key piece of information, realisation dawns on the protagonist, one of their friends are in danger, they are in danger, they discover something that puts the whole plot at risk, but save the big ones for your catalyst, your midpoint and your all is lost plot points. 

The purpose of these cliffhangers if to leave your reader with unanswered questions, seeking answers they cannot wait till morning to discover, questions that will make them buy the next book! 

What’s the conclusion here? 

Cliffhangers are not about the shock factor, the drama factor, the danger factor. They are about one very simple thing. Questions.

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Drafting me: this isn’t perfect, but I’ll sort it out in the editing phase :)

*Two months later*

Friend: How are you doing with your novel?

Editing me:

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Quirks To Show Your Character’s ADHD

From a certified ADHD adult(ish) human. 

• Not being able to shrug a niggling feeling or through until it’s dealt with.
• Saying ‘one more minute’ when hyper-focused, then looking up to find two hours have passed.
• F i d d l i n g 
• (With literally anything available) 
• Sometimes having trouble falling or staying asleep because their damn brain won’t shut up. 
• Yet still being a semi-coherent person the next day, despite only being out for four hours. 
• Because  e n e r g y 
• Eventually learning ways to get to sleep, but getting annoyed when they fail.
• Struggling to wait their turn when speaking or in games.
• Losing track of their point mid-speech.
• Inability to control thoughts as they overlap and run away faster than they can be caught. 
• Having too many hobbies.
• Being more creative under stress.
• Speaking really really fast when excited or after caffeine.
• Struggling to remember instructions.
• Struggling to listen to instructions.
• Spotting patterns and details others often miss.
• Forgetting brilliant ideas just as quickly as they were thought up.
• And thus being really impulsive when we get ideas.
• Desperate attempts at organisation (giving everything a place).
• And yet still not remembering where they’ve put anything.
• I m p a t i e n c e 

Disclaimer: Not everyone with ADHD will experience all of these things, and there are many more things that people with ADHD experience. If you experience these things, it doesn’t necessarily mean your ADHD, but these things are widely present in those who have it. If you want to write a character with ADHD please do your research and only take this as a starting point.

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We’ve all been there. Staring at our planning document with a long list of characters who are like our children. We love every single one of them, but what about the reader? Will they get confused? Will they be able to keep track? Will they care about any of your characters if they don’t get enough page time? 

If these questions have plagued you, it might be time to think about who gets the chop. To help with the dilemma, I have put together a list of questions to ask yourself.

1. What does each character bring to the story thematically?
2. List what each character does to advance the plot?
3. Could any of these things easily be done by another character?
4. Do they all have distinctive personalities? 
5. Do they all have distinctive mannerisms/speech/appearances?

If you’re struggling to answer these with a clear yes or no, it might be time to bin some characters. Bonus questions to consider are:

1. Is there potential to merge two characters into one? 
2. Does this character need a name, or are they just an extra?

Hope this helped!

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Friend: OMG, we haven’t talked in ages! How are your characters doing?

*Inside my head* 

MC: *Bashing head repeatedly against the wall*

Comedic Relief Side: *Telling jokes to a nice boulder*

Villain: *Wailing due to lack of attention* 

*Outside my head*

Me: Yeah, they’re good. 

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How Echo Words Make Your Writing Weak

What are echo words? 

An ‘echo word’ is a key word that had been repeated within a sentence or paragraph. With certain words or phrases, it can even be a problem across a page, a chapter or an entire book! Usually, an echo word is a noun or descriptor. Pronouns, conjunctions or the word said arenot echo words as these are often ‘invisible’ to the reader. 

Why are they a problem? 

Echo words can make your writing sound disjointed and repetitive, resulting in bad flow. This puts space between the reader and the content, pulling them out of the story if they notice it or just find it annoying. For example: 

Eliza picked up the pen, eager to begin her letter. She pressed the pen to the page and began scribbling fiercely. 

This might not bother you, but the double use of pen really bothers me, as well as many other editors and readers. I’m having to mentally restrain myself from changing the second instance to nib. 

How to fix them?

Thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, there are free online tools like wordcounter.net which identify your most used words and phrases. This may bring your attention to any echo words that you’re prone to overusing. You don’t have to get rid of all of them, but it might just make you more aware. 

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New Writer: Hey! I want to get into writing, any advice?

Me: Well, first you have a vague idea for a story, then you open up google docs, and THEN you stare at a wall of eight hours contemplating the meaning of existence. 

New Writer: But how–

Me: Shhhh. It’s all part of the process. 

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So you’ve probably heard this thrown around a lot in the writing community, and maybe you’re a Save The Cat! structure enthusiast already, but if not this is a brief introduction to the 3 act structure. Please note that I use ‘hero’ and ‘bad guys’ as terms for guys, gals and non-binary pals. 

Act 1

This is where we set the scene. The first 15-20% of your book should be an introduction to the character and their life as it is. These first few chapters should show your character’s attributes and flaws while settling up the book’s theme. This is also the home for any fundamental world building that you want to use later. Act 1 ends either at the catalyst or the moment the hero decides to act on the catalyst. This is the moment of ‘For our hero, life was perfectly normal—if a little rough—UNTIL!’

Act 2

Remember that life we just introduced? Well it’s about to get seriously upended. That’s act 2. This is where our character gets thrown into something new, something that’s going to change them even though they don’t know it yet. They might expect this to fix their life, but it’s not a real fix. It’s a bandage on the bullet hole caused by their flaws—the real thing they need to fix. This usually coincides with our hero meeting someone new, someone who will guide them through this change. This act is where the tensions begin to rise, the stakes are revealed, the bad guys (both physical and metaphorical) are getting closer, but don’t forget to throw in some light hearted scenes, some excitement and some comedic relief. This is about 50% of your novel and it all ends when your character flaws catch up to them and they make a mistake that leads to their worst fear coming true. This is where you break your character. 

Act 3

Do allow your character some time to mope and process whatever atrocities you’ve thrown at them. It’s the least you can do after ruining their lives. Once that’s over we can get right into act 3. Act three is the finale. The stakes have never been higher, the danger had never been more pressing, and after some serious soul searching, your character is ready for the final stand. This is where your character stops running from their flaws and learns to change. Whether they win or lose, they are not the person they were at the start. 

Act three ends with the end of the book. A final image of the world that will help the reader say goodbye to the characters they have grown to love or perhaps an evil cliffhanger that will ensure they read the next book. 

And there you have it! A short introduction to the three acts of Save The Cat!

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Me: Wow, my novel is going so well!

Writing tip: Your writing will be more engaging if you do this!

Me: Damn, that’s really helpful. I can make that change.

Writing tip: Every book needs a ___!

Me, sweating: I guess I could add that too.

Writing tip: Do you do ___ in your novel? Don’t!

Me, yelling: Yeah, sure, why don’t I just start from scratch cos my draft is TRASH.

Me: *Dramatically throws manuscript in the bin*

Me: *Fishes it out and lies on the floor hugging it as I cry*

Me, whispering: I’m so sorry. I love you really. 

So far on my blog, I’ve covered the first two steps of writing a novel: developing realistic characters and coming up with a plot. Congratulations! You now have an A plot. 

An A plot is the surface level plot. It’s what your character is doing and what’s happening to them. This plot deals with questions like:

• What is wrong with my character’s life at the beginning of the novel?
• What do they think will fix their lives when—spoiler alert—it won’t?
• Why haven’t they achieved this goal yet?
• What catalyst (or inciting incident) will cause them to get off their butts and start chasing this goal for real? 

Now it’s time to move on to the B plot. The B plot is about your character’s development and changing who they are as a person. This is about working out not what your character wants but what they need.

Remember all those flaws we gave our characters? This is where we need to ask the questions:

• How does this flaw affect the rest of my hero’s life?
  
• Do my characters flaws get in the way of them achieving their goal? 
• How is the plot going to help them realise this flaw and overcome it by the end of the novel after their breaking point?
• How is overcoming this flaw really going to make their lives better?
  

This character development is what gives novels their sparkle. The A plot is what makes your plot interesting, but the B plot is what makes your charactersinteresting. 

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Me on a walk: Wow so many writing ideas

Me cooking: Wow so many dialogue ideas

Me doing uni work: Wow so many plot ideas 

Me sat at my computer trying to write: Wow so many distractions

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What To Do When Your Stuck On A Chapter

1) Move on

Sounds silly, but I would sit for ages trying to force a section that I struggled with, rather than moving onto the sections I new and filling in the gaps later. I still write chronologically most of the time, but sometimes it helps to start where you are confident. 

2) Write Character Studies

A character study is a short piece or scene written for the sole purpose of getting to know your characters. These don’t end up in the final manuscript, but they do help you to write well developed characters. Once you know the character better, writing that scene might be easier. 

3) Step Away From The Page

Go for a walk. Go make some tea. Go do a handstand. Whatever it is, just walk away from the page. Let the scene play out in your head, listen to the characters and then come back and write it once you have a better idea of what’s happening. 

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