Writing Encouragement - Tumblr Posts
At a certain point, you have to be kind to yourself as a writer and trust your own motives. You have to have confidence that you’re coming from the right place. You have to allow yourself to let loose, pursue a good story, and create people who feel real.
– Angela Flournoy
I just wrote 8 pages when I haven't written in months and was beginning to think I'd never be able to again. Idk what it is, but I am sharing and manifesting this energy for every writer who sees this. May you write 8 quality pages effortlessly and find joy writing once more
[Image description: drawing of a green and purple turtle above a caption that says “I can do this even if it’s difficult. I can do this even if it takes times. I can do this even if I can’t do it in the exact way I originally planned. I can do this.”]
You are never “too old” to start again.
You are never “too old” to follow your dreams.
You are never “too old” to switch directions.
You are never “too old” to learn something new.
Keep writing! Your characters need you!
“I bring my characters through hell though” good for you! Keep it up!
Please write whatever deranged, unhinged, dark, fluffy, obsessive, adorable, never before seen take on a classic, 100 word drabble or a 200k masterpiece you want. Write kink, write coffee shop, write dark stuff, write pure floofy fluff. Monsterfucking, Movie AUs, murder mystery, sex pollen, first time, fuck or die, roommates, mafia boss, breakups, harsh times, there was only one bed, bad relationships, imperfect queer rep, heartwarming found family, bad romance, dead dove cowboys on a ranch, non-con, soul bond, weddings and werewolves ANYTHING!
Write ANYTHING YOU WANT. Please.
Don't ever let people tell you otherwise. This is YOUR space too. Contrast is important. Fandom is a tapestry that should NOT only be made up of one uniform colour. It's supposed to be messy.
Please write whatever you have inside you. This is your sign.
💜💜💜
What I hate about writing is when I have to write so much before I finally get to the part I actually wanted to write.
it's ok to write only for yourself
it's ok to not share your writing with the world
it's ok to want validation
it’s ok to only write fanfic it is just as valid
it's ok to write self-indulgent stories
it's ok to only write one genre
it's ok to share your writing even if you're not the best at it
it’s ok to write abt clichés or “overdone” concepts
it's ok to praise your own writing
it's ok to fail and start over
it's ok to abandon wips
Y’all it’s summertime so now I have the time to be scrolling on tumblr and being a lil delusional
Now let’s welcome our lovely girlies, Handsome Baby boys and Majestic beauties of the between of Tumblr!!
But seriously I am gonna be doing some more writing for the different fandoms I’m in cause I see y’all liking my Previous idea about the Transformers😏😏😏
Reblog to give the person you reblogged this from motivation to work on their WIPs.
Be proud of the dumb, little thing you wrote, just because you wanted to write a dumb, little thing. Your writing doesn't need to be serious and award-winning for you to be proud of it.
holy shit. okay, noted.
let’s talk, shall we?
it’s no secret that tumblr writers have been leaving or deactivating their blogs, especially in the last year or two. and i think the reason why is even less of a secret.
the fact that writers have to practically beg for feedback and interaction on a site where they post their works for FREE is ridiculous. the fact that most of the people who are reading and consuming these works don’t even spare 10 seconds to add a nice tag to their reblog (if they even bother to do that) is borderline enraging. this is tumblr, not instagram or twitter. likes on tumblr do nothing for the writer. i don’t care if you think that it helps them appear in the tags, or if you think that seeing yet another “___ liked your post” is encouraging to them, because it doesn’t and its not.
and speaking of likes, why is the ratio of likes to reblogs so fucking huge? and before you think i’m being dramatic, lets take a look at some of the notes from my own works.
at the time of me writing this, my one-shot, dream lover, has 821 notes. that’s pretty good right? but let’s see how many are empty likes and how many are reblogs.
769 likes.
52 reblogs.
out of those 52 reblogs, 35 of them are empty. no tag, no comment.
one of my reactions currently has 2,038 notes. you may be thinking that’s a lot, which it is and i’m incredibly thankful for how many notes i’ve gotten on it. but how many are likes and how many are reblogs?
1,924 likes.
113 reblogs.
out of those 113 reblogs, 81 of them are empty.
one of my headcanons currently has 1,110 notes.
1,069 likes.
41 reblogs.
28 of those 41 reblog are empty.
why is it so hard to reblog things and give feedback?
“oh but it won’t fit my blog theme!” if you’re so fucking concerned about what your precious tumblr blog looks like, then send an ask. they’re just as appreciated.
“i don’t know what to say tho!” we’re not asking you to be shakespeare. if you’re really that no thoughts head empty just put a keyboard smash, if nothing else.
“but i’m shy and embarrassed!” the anonymous option is there for a reason, and most writers have it turned on. being shy when you have the option of keeping your identity a secret is no excuse.
and yes, i’m aware that some writers don’t have the anon option on, which brings me to my final point.
stop. demanding.
if a writer has requests open, be a decent human being and use your manners. going into their inbox and saying “____’s reaction of this.” is no way to request something. saying please, thank you, or even “hey, could you do a reaction of _____?” is a thousand times better than just telling them what you want them to write.
writers spend hours of their time and energy to write things for you to read, and leaving an empty like is meaningless to them.
if your liked a writer’s works, reblog them and maybe add some nice fucking tags while you’re at or send an ask to them about it. because sooner or later, after so many likes and barely any interaction, more and more writers are going to leave.
stop making them desperate for any spare crumb of interaction and start leaving feedback if you love these writers so much.
As long as you enjoy it, love it, find peace in it. Write anyway.
taking a leap in your writing
You are allowed to make mistakes, genuinely. You are allowed to try something new, and it's okay if it doesn't work out.
This is going to sound bizarre, but it's okay to suck. It's okay to try your hands at a new genre, or just writing in general, and fail miserably.
Not just because writing in on itself can be taxing, but because it's art. It's built on creativity. You are allowed to create, and you are allowed to challenge yourself. You will never know everything, but you will keep learning, and your art will continue to improve for as long as you write.
to every writer who needs to hear it
if nobody told you today, i want you to know that you’re a tremendous writer, and you’re capable of achieving whatever it is you want to achieve.
you’re allowed to doubt yourself. you’re allowed to be disappointed, and you’re allowed to feel like you’re not doing enough, but that still doesn’t make you a bad writer.
you might not believe in yourself right now, but i believe in you, and i’m telling you, you’re more than capable of writing something extraordinary. don’t forget, every writer’s voice is unique, and if you’re not here to tell your story, that story would never be told, because nobody can replace you.
''Useless'' Writing Reminders
Save your documents. Strive to be safe, not sorry.
Back-up your documents. Strive to be safe, not sorry.
Placeholder names can quickly turn into forever names. Picking name(s) on a whim can lead to great things, or it can become your worst nightmare (😁).
Your writing has value. Yes, even the most inadequate of writing. You don't have to boast or even like everything you've ever written, but even the most questionable of writing will have contributed to your growth as a storyteller. Cherish it for what it is.
You can take a break. It is absolutely okay.
First drafts are scary. But you know what's more scary? Not having a draft at all.
Using clichés or ''overdone'' tropes will not kill your story. Firstly, tropes are building blocks. Secondly, humans actively search to consume stories revolving around these tropes.
Write your heart out. Boast about your writing. Boast about your friends' and fellow writers' writing. Everyone deserves recognition, even you, from within your own heart. (Sorry. That's really cheesy. But it's true).
writing should be fun.
make oc playlists. spend hours on moodboards that have no purpose. write self-indulgent fluff that’s never going to be published. scribble three lines of poetry in the back of your history notebook. draw fanart of your own characters. write stupid dialogue that your publishers might hate. start new wips that you might never finish but write those three chapters that make you happy because if you don’t write them, who else will?
writing shouldn’t always be about “will publishers like this” or “i have to reach this word count” or “how do i get the most likes”.
have fun with your writing.
Writing is first and foremost about having fun.
Write the story you want to write, no matter how cliché or overdone of a concept it might be. You are allowed to write your story, even if it's filled with billions of things we've already seen before.
As long as you enjoy what you're doing, and you're passionate and excited about your project, that's what matters.
And don't give too much thought into what other people are trying to tell you. There's an audience for everything. Some people do actively search to consume stories about ''washed up'' concepts.