Btw Highly Recommend Improv Writing From Scratch. Entirely From Scratch. Not A Story You Were Thinking

Btw highly recommend improv writing from scratch. Entirely from scratch. Not a story you were thinking of before, or a scene to a different story, just completely new story and characters from scratch.

Don't worry about silliness or using wrong words, write down your thoughts as they're coming. And you can return to the improv story whenever the mood might strike you write down anything and everything.

I ended up a new story with characters that already had humour and distinctive personalities right off of the bat and a storyline to go off of, and it'll help me with my skills when it comes to my more serious stories. :>

this is... the secret recipe. oh my god.

A recipe for finding your story's plot:

Ingredients:

2 cups of Things that must be in the story (this can be characters, specific scenes, settings, subplots etc.)

1 cup of Vague plot ideas I may not use

1 tbsp of Central Themes

1 tsp of Ending (either happy, tragic, or bitter-sweet)

1 tsp of Protagonist's Primary Motivation

2 lbs of Brick Wall

Time, as needed

Instructions:

In a large bowl, mix Things that must be in the story. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, sift together Vague plot ideas I may not use. Discard the excess and set aside.

Add Themes, Ending, and Motivation to a small jar. Screw lid on tight and shake until mixture becomes Conflict.

Pour Conflict and Vague plot ideas into Things that must be in the story. Blend on medium until Plot Points form.

Taste.

If it is still missing something, smash head against 1 lbs of Brick Wall for one to six hours.

Let marinate for one to 365 days. Add more Things and Vague plot ideas as desired.

Smash head against the rest of the Brick Wall for one to six hours.

Scream.

Repeat steps 5 through 9 as needed.

After sufficient marination, the mixture will form an idea. This will tell you what specific action must happen in order to resolve your story's conflict. Write this down and make appropriate sacrifices to thank whichever deity took pity on you.

Now you have your conflict, climax, and resolution. You just have to figure out how to get there. Good luck with the damn middle section dork!!

i don't know who needs to hear this, but 'perfect' writing is a trap. all writing is subjective. what we create today, we may see as flawed tomorrow. what we see as flawed today, we may see as perfect tomorrow.

writing is the act of transmuting the human experience through words. and the human experience? it's a messy, chaotic thing filled with rough edges and uneven lines and mistakes and failures. you can erase all of that. you can. but then you're left with something sterile and artificial. you've effectively squeezed the soul out of your work, and i can think of nothing less appealing.

this isn't to say don't edit your work. please do. but keep it within reason, and make sure you're moving forward and not backward. momentum is key.

don't sit on an idea for three decades waiting for that dance with inspiration, or that dynamite first line, or that eureka plot twist, or the words to flow like magic from your fingertips. because it won't happen. and if it does, it'll strike like lightning and disappear twice as fast. the only surefire way to finish a story is to start.

so write. for the love of god, just write.

along the way, things will fall in line. i promise. and if they don't? then they already have. the magic of art is that everything we create is a snapshot of who we are at the time of creation. it's like a time capsule of human experience, and there's a beauty in that authenticity-- in the mistakes we make and the wrong turns we take. don't run from them. embrace them.

let their lessons flow through you and channel them into something tangible. if it's hard, then start with one word and keep going. don't erase it. don't start over. don't let yourself believe your story isn't worth telling because if you don't tell it, then no one else will. and that'd be a damn shame.

so one word a day. one sentence a week.

whatever it takes.

it might be tough letting go of the idea of perfect. silencing your inner editor. your inner critic. it might be tough realizing that your story will never meet your standards, not completely, but it won't be half as tough as looking back and wondering where all the days, weeks, and years went; that in the pursuit of perfection, you forgot to ever write a story at all.

so leave perfect behind. readers don't want it. why would they? they can't possibly relate to perfect-- none of us can.

instead, give readers a window to your imagination, stormclouds and all. you'll be surprised by how many stick around for the rain, how many relish the sound of your thunder, and how many cherish the worlds that only you could bring to life.

The legend says that if a writer sheds tears in what they write, those tears will reach whoever reads it.

this. this is so good.

and it goes so perfectly well with something i'm writing. like- (a broken passionate love between two best friends(?). stop oh my goodness.

Will you let me be your knight throughout this life? There is a moon in the sky tonight. I am still waiting for you while holding on to my loneliness. Before this night becomes hollow remember to come to me as a ghost or a mortal. My hope will be lost if the dawn breaks so soon. I am trying to wait for my love. I will conjure ample darkness and grow as rosaline of the night. I am bound to love you forever. The sleepless cold night When will the time come when I will be in your arms. I am hungry for your sight I am empty and I long for you Love for you.

this.

the document haunts me as i don't write, and it haunts me as i do.

it's a moody, rainy and windy autumn day. i have nothing else to do but put on a classical music dark academia playlist, open the document and start writing.