Writing Questions - Tumblr Posts

Does anyone else write a paragraph just to reread it and be like “Why did I write that? It sounds nothing like my character” because I’m going through that right now.

It’s been one day and now I don’t think I can stop this from happening so I need someone to tell me RIGHT NOW if this is actually genius or if I’m just delusion. So here’s how I got to this point.

The core group of my wip is 5 witches: Daron, the leader; Catalina, the mom friend; Aria, the feisty one; Naomi, the soft girl; and Cassidy, the adventurous one. By the time I got to Cassidy I started runnjng out of personality traits so she ended up being pretty similar to Aria.

I originally only planned for her interactions within the group to be with Naomi, who’s her best friend, and Daron, who she looks up to. But after finishing my first draft, I realized that she naturally clashed with Aria a lot because they’re similar headstrong personality and I leaned into it more.

This dynamic is what made me realize they are perfect for each other.

What was SUPPOSED to happen is I introduce a new set of characters and one of them is this horrible guy who is obsessed with Aria, but she hates him because he sucks. Eventually he would get threatened into helping the core group and through doing that becomes a better person. That’s when Aria accepts him. I liked the idea of Aria growing and forgiving and of her humbling herself because he’s a human and she thinks she’s above humans, but this might be more important.

Cassidy was never supposed to be in a relationship, even though she was the one character I made vocal about wanting one. Instead, she dies when the group first meets the villain. This serves the purpose of 1. showing how high the stakes are and 2. giving Naomi an arc where she wants to become stronger

BUT WHAT IF Cassidy never dies. Everyone thinks she does, so Naomi still gets her arc and the stakes are still high because the villain could kill her but is choosing not to. And Cassidy gets the romance she’s always wanted. And we’re happy for more queer characters.

Thoughts??

My brain is about to explode because I had the revelation last night that two of my main characters are very shipable. I’m so serious I went to sleep thinking about them and then woke up thinking about them. I want to explore this but the problem is I’ve been planning for years to put one character in a different relationship and kill the other. Now I ask myself am I willing to upend major parts of my story for the sake of romance. Probably.

I keep thinking about writing stories, but something’s holding me back. Maybe I just don’t read enough, or

Yknow it might just be a self esteem thing

If I decided to start writing short stories on here, would anyone have any tips for me?

I'm aro-ace, and Nathaniel, the love interest of my debut novel, The Tengu And The Angel, is canonically demiromantic. I can't guarantee the accuracy of his portrayal, since I am not demiromantic myself, but I have researched the orientation heavily, and tried to be as accurate and respectful as I can about it, and that's really the best thing any writer can do.

Is it weird that my book will have interspecies romance (like, human x non-human)?

I need an advice how to start a story. The stories i have started i really hate the beginning. I always have story ideas for stories but getting very frustated how to start.

Also have inner conflict how to start. I call it a snail shell.

Example character A is in a room and slowly expores the world around or the world slowly zooms in towards character A's room.

If you want specific advice comment some information on the plot, genre, etc.

Most first drafts start too early (this is not true for everyone obviously, just a common mistake). I highly recommend picking a story structure (I use the 3 act story structure), and organizing your story that way. You don't need to plot every second, but its helpful to have a base.

Set a 5 minute timer and write as much as you can for a beginning scene. Don't worry about it being perfect or even good. Just write it. It might feel like a waste of time but it's 5 minutes and it'll help get your ideas flowing.

Find an opening chapter/scene you like and compare it to what your wrote. What did that author include/exclude that you didn't? Now you know what you like.

Then use those techniques where your plot begins. Maybe someone is attacked, bump into a love interest, MC does something embarrassing. Remember that you can always edit later and you don't have to start writing at the beginning.

How do you type/write a introductory post? I struggle to be short and quick, therefore I don't know how to present myself without it being a longass post

Would it be offensive for me ( a white writer ) to write a black or hispanic OC? i want to be more inclusive in my writing but i don’t know if it would be okay for me to write a black or hispanic or any other OC other than white.

does anyone have any idea how to write (hand-to-hand AND weapon) sparring scenes?

Weird Questions for Writers (because writers are weird)

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

2. If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

5. Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

6. What is your darkest fear about writing?

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

8. If you had to write an entire story without either action or dialogue, which would you choose and how would it go?

9. Do you believe in ghosts? This isn’t about writing I just wanna know

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

11. Do you believe in the old advice to “kill your darlings?” Are you a ruthless darling assassin? What happens to the darlings you murder? Do you have a darling graveyard? Do you grieve?

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

14. Do you lend your books to people? Are people scared to borrow books from you? Do you know exactly where all your “lost” books are and which specific friend from school you haven’t seen in twelve years still possesses them? Will you ever get them back?

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

16. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

20. If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it — which would you choose? You can’t have both sorry, life’s a bitch

21. Could you ever quit writing? Do you ever wish you could? Why or why not?

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

23. Describe the physical environment in which you write. Be as detailed as possible. Tell me what’s around you as you work. Paint me a picture.

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

29. Where do you draw your inspiration? What do you do when the inspiration well runs dry?

30. Talk to me about the role dreams play in your writing life. Have you ever used material from your dreams in your writing? Have you ever written in a dream? Did you remember it when you woke up?

31. Write a short love letter to your readers.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

33. Do you practice any other art besides writing? Does that art ever tie into your writing, or is it entirely separate?

34. Thoughts on the Oxford comma, Go:

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?

37. If you were to be remembered only by the words you’ve put on the page, what would future historians think of you?

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

40. Please share a poem with me, I need it.

Help me re-write correctly

So, My GF and I seemed to have accidentally given a Character Ticks and we didnt notice, now, before we put him in a Book, so Everybody who has Ticks, Can You Tell me what i should avoid while Writing and What i should definitly Include, etc.?

(I didnt want to rely on Google Research alone and thought asking People would probably be the best)

50 Questions For Your Characters

What motivates your character?

How does the public view them? (Doesn't have to be anything major, it could be classmates, friends, strangers in the park, etc.)

Is your character an optimist or pessimist?

Does your character care about their reputation and/or how others perceive them?

Is your character more of a family or friends person?

What, if anything, sticks out about their appearance?

Is your character good with kids?

What are some internal obstacles that your character has to overcome?

What emotion does your character feel most frequently?

If your character is an antagonist or something of the like, do they self-justify their actions? If so, how?

What events in their past helped shape and influence them into who they are today?

What are some of your character's pet peeves?

Who is the closest person to your character?

How did they become so close?

What habits does your character have?

What is your character's relationship with their family?

Overall, is there anything special or peculiar about your character compared to others in your story?

Who/what comforts your character?

Summarize your character's goals in one sentence.

Who's in the way of those goals?

What is your character's relationship with their emotions?

What regrets do they have, if any? (From any part of the story, not just exposition.)

If your character is at a loud, people-filled party, how would they act?

From childhood to their current age, how has your character changed?

What is the main setting of your story and how does it impact your character?

What are the top three most distinguishable personality traits of your character?

How does your character view themselves? (Expectations, intelligence, confidence, self-belief, etc.)

What emotion is the most unfamiliar to your character and how do they deal with it?

What are the three things that your character values most?

Is your character hiding something from other people, if so, what?

What genre of music does/would your character love?

How does your character view their past?

What are three positive traits that your character has?

What are three negative traits that your character has?

Imagine the ideal home for your character. Where would it be located? What type of housing would it be? Who/what would be there?

What are the things that make your character enter a full rage/cold mode? (Depends on their character.)

What does your character want to change about themselves?

Someone your character dislikes goes up to them and confesses. How does your character react? (Doesn't have to be a rejection.)

What does your character have yet to realize about themselves?

Is your character good at time-management and responsible?

What kind of clothes does your character wear?

What is one thing that your character dislikes/wants to change about themselves? ("Nothing" is also a valid answer.)

What does your character see as the greatest injustice?

What does your character fear?

On a scale from 1-10, how intelligent is your character? (1 being incredibly stupid with almost no knowledge of the world, and 10 literally being Light Yagami. If you don't get it, that's on you lol; but it's basically having over 200 IQ.)

Does your character specialize or have remarkable talent in anything? If so, what is it?

In a group setting, what role would your character have? Leader, co-leader, follower, or outsider?

What event in your story altered your character the most?

In the end, what is your character grateful for?

Why did you choose to use this character to answer these questions?

Happy writing~

3hks :)

Questions, Questions

This is about writing and I have some questions I would like some answers to. They probably aren't going to be answered, but I don't really care.

How do you do research for writing?? It's so hard and makes me want to cry afterward.

How does one write emotions? I'm trying to write a character sobbing and shaking and angry all at the same time. Any writing exercises I could do?

How do I write panic attacks, ptsd attacks, etc... etc...? I want to write them probably to fully sell the effect.

Any tips on writing animals? Cats, dogs, horses, snakes, unicorns, or whatever.

Or anything that isn't human?

Answer if you like; I'm thankful for any help. My brain is half-mush an' I really need some help.

Ok I’ve seen a post saying that in movies when people need blood they shouldn’t cut their hand cause of the nerve endings, but what WOULD be a good place to cut yourself for a dramatic blood sacrifice?

Oh I already do

I have a question for the writers of Tumblr

Would you ever consider writing fanfiction of your own work? And I don't just mean like random tidbits of characters, I mean full-on fanfic tropes like coffee-shop AUs and alternate universes.

I'd like to think I would, but I would be worried that I'd 'use up' my ideas for that particular world if that makes sense.

Day 1 of 'Questions I ask when I write my stories'

What's actually needed for a teaching degree? Does it very depending on what you teach?

Context: a MC of mine is studying to become a teacher, specifically a science teacher for around the 6th grade. I just made up whatever, but I was curious to you need a science degree ontop of the regular teaching degree.

Maybe I'm looking too into it

I have been notoriously stuck in my story because of a section involving baseball. One of my main characters has his character development during a baseball game, but

clears throat

Baseball who?

I don't watch, play, or am interested in most if not all sports.

I only know baseball because of my mom lol.

So, question. What do you all do when you're writing about something you have little knowledge in, but can't just search it up?

So, my problem in writing is not being able to finish anything.

What do you all do to get yourself to finish a story or something you're writing?

Guys what’s your take on minors writing smut. I literally have the best idea for a tsp narrator x reader but i wanna know first. Ive read up on it and some people say its ok and some say its not.

Like 1. Is it legal? And 2. Is it legal? (3 is: would it make you uncomfortable knowing it’s from a minor?)

Comments appreciated but please be kind