Writing Experience - Tumblr Posts

Random writing thought: the best stories are often the ones that only you could have written — but also the ones that you could only write at this one moment.

I couldn't write All the Birds in the Sky from scratch now if I tried. But the me of 2013 couldn't have written The Prodigal Mother either.

10 Tips for New Writers

Find people to write with (another beginner writing buddy, critique groups for beginners, a mentor or teacher, online writer groups that you trust)

Accept all feedback, but you ultimately decide what changes to make

If you want to traditionally publish your writing—don’t post it online. Anywhere.

Be choosey with who you share your writing with

Rejection does not determine your writing’s worth.

First drafts are meant to be bad—you can’t edit a blank page

Write as much and as often as makes you happy

Try out lots of different techniques until you find the one that really works for you

Write what interests you—not what you think others will be interested in

Ultimately, writing is supposed to be fun—don’t be afraid to have fun with it!

@the-wip-project Days 16 to 19 (Gosh, I'm so so late 😥)

Do you have prophecies and superstitions as part of the worldbuilding in your WIP? Could you add some?

In WIP2, the A/B/O fic, there's this trope about the bond mates create when they claim each other (which is one of my favourite parts of the ABO universe to be honest) that I decided to use as a prerequisite superstition from the point of view of one of the secondary characters; a secondary character who'll only appear at the beginning and vanish shortly after, but whose impact on the protagonist will be powerful enough to ingrain this belief quite deep.

Only to be debunked later by the other main character 😊

Think about an interview question for your main character/s and then write down what they don’t say. What secrets do they keep? What do they lie about?

Right, so I've decided to present this as an interview between my protagonist and his psyche:

Protagonist: Alphas are a plague. They suck, stink and can go to Hell. I don't need one in my life. I can totally live without them. I'm independent and strong and in love with myself. Who needs alphas anyway?

Superego: Right, I understand where you come from. Your reaction is logical and the emotional charge of your thoughts is legitimate. I'm sure though that, when you calm down, you'll be able to see things in a more composed and lucid way, and consider your words as a bit extreme.

Ego: SHUT UP! I.GOT. HURT! NOT THEM, I! So yeah, alphas are the scum of the earth. Just watch me live my life like I don't care, and learn!

Id: lol.

What ideas came to you recently from daydreaming?

Too many. Like....

I've trying to figure out how a toddler speaks in English and how adults would react. I've also been thinking about future scenes, which should normally happen a few chapters later, and I'm always debating with myself whether I should write them down while they're vivid in my mind or focus on where I'm at, now. I've also made some research on Hawaii for my other wip, so my head is also full of palm trees, paradise beaches, luxuriant vegetation in the volcanic outback (very pleasant part of the daydreaming here) and the serious talk that must take place in such an idyllic environment (pretty ironic)

How do you decide which WIP to work on?

I've been asking myself this question since I started the second wip *scratches head* (my writing involves as much daydreaming as head-scratching, I'm realizing) and I've come to the idea to write a bit of both at the same time. And it's quite satisfying, since I have the feeling of overlooking neither, even if I don't produce a lot. Besides, as they're very different, one really allows me to take a step back from the other and take the time to consider what I've just written (if it makes sense, what I forgot, didn't phrase accurately etc...).

Planting the seeds of creativity (and those are coffee beans)

@the-wip-project Day 73

Are you a plotter, a pantser, or a plantser? Would you like to be different than you are?

I had never heard the word 'plantser' before so I had a quick look-up (even if I don't answer all your questions, I read them all and think them through 😘) And the revelation is that I'm definitely a plantser!! While I used to see myself as, mostly, a pantser, the definition that I read of a plantser is closer to what I do.

In one of my previous answers, I told how much I love letting my imagination and creativity run free, despite the drawbacks of losing track of an idea for instance. What this new word includes is the process of expansion my mind engages in once I have an idea; how I build up the universe, the characters' main traits, the forthcoming action, dialogues, movements... one step at a time. It doesn't mean I don't know where I am going. I always keep in my mind-eye the ending line and a few mandatory scenes I just have to write. The rest though, is up to my typing, one chapter after another, just as the filling scenes, which the last question tackled, appear by magic whenever I sit down to write (I don't trust all of them, mind you)

I don't/can't plan a lot in advance or it would clutter my mind and block me much more than one can imagine, oddly enough, and that would result in triggering actual pressure over my wips and my writing.

Fun fact, I found that the idea of a 'percolator' was sometimes associated to this kind of creative process: "let[ting] the drips of a story filter through my mind over a long period of time, letting it steam and swirl about without determining it." (source: wikiwrimo.org)

No need to tell your local coffee-addict servant anything more...

@the-wip-project Day 75

Do you write in past tense or present tense? Why do you prefer one?

When I started writing three years ago, I used to write in the past tense. My first two published stories are told in the past.

And then I saw that meme somewhere here on Tumblr...

That ended me 😆 (and my past tense story-telling)