Mixedandblended
- Querying is a whole separate art form to writing, it's a different activity altogether. And one I was wholly unprepared for. Any querying tips for a struggling writer? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- What do you do to make a character "stick"? To make them distinct from the rest of the cast and a more fleshed out person to the reader? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I honestly don't know how you pansters do it. How do you start with an idea and some characters and just find a novel along the way? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Here's the thing. Those old stories aren't about how bad you were. They're about how good you've gotten. Just the fact that you can read them and know better means you're growing, so keep writing. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I know I have good ideas. That's why I wrote them down in my notes app in the first place, right? But sometimes it's so hard to get started, every idea looks like a loser. How do you deal with the failure to launch? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #amquerying #amwriting
- I love to see it happen for anyone, especially when they throw a ladder back down into the #amquerying trenches. To all the agented and published writers sharing their paths, I salute you. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I you go looking for her, she'll be the beautiful, intelligent, resilient character whom everyone loves and always gets everything right. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Here's a writing prompt for the weekend: Your character tries to fix a problem, big or small, for a loved one, and makes things so bad they don't even want to admit they got involved. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting #writingprompt
- I have two stories in the "cooking" file that are still unfinished after a year. What do you do when you don't know how to stick the landing? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I just wrote a story like this. Thankfully, the group had all sorts of idea for making the theme more cohesive. What's your WIP about, not in terms of plot, but thematically? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Whether it's for an editor or a class or a workshop, working down to the wire always makes me feel like that undergrad student again. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Polysyndeton is using conjunctions where commas would work: "He turned on the kitchen faucet and splashed handfuls of lukewarm water into his mouth, gurgled and spat and splashed and gurgled and spat again." #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I'm a very committed and meticulous plotter, but sometimes even I get to the end of a novel in progress and realize I have to scrap the original plan and head in a different direction. Anybody have a story end in a completely different way that you planned? #writing #writingcommunity #amwriting
- If everyone in my story is really me, then is it really me running my own story off the rails? And me adding all kinds of crazy twists to my plot? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting #reading #reader #readingcommunity #readers #read #booktalk #booktok
- I'm starting to agree with the writers who say that any adverb is evidence of a weak verb. Try searching your story for adverbs and changing each one to a stronger verb. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- You are a writer if you're ... Published Agented On sub Vague Querying Drafting a novel Working on a short story Taking classes Writing #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Finding comps is a tricky thing. I need a successful novel, in the last 3 years, similar to mine, but not so similar that mine seems derivative. Then find 2 more. Any tips on how to find comps? Any magic formulas or algorithms? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #amquerying #amwriting
- It’s hard! I try to give a few that have a common feel (voice, plot, or characters—not necessarily all) and then say in a few words what the comparison is.
- That’s good thinking. I’m hearing that comps don’t have to be an exact match, more like “the voice of x” and “the creepy vibes of y.”
- These days, my first move in editing a story is to eliminate every linking verb, helping verb, and passive constructions. My goal is to get rid of every "was" and "were" until only the strongest actions verbs remain. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #amquerying #amwriting
- Drop a line from your favorite novel that gets you every time. I'll go first. "You your best thing, Sethe. You are." Beloved, Toni Morrison #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- What the craziest thing your character has ever done against your will? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
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View full thread[trying to avoid spoilers] It turned out that he had a long-dead secret and this was his best hope of putting it to rest.
- Try this tip for revision to make your narrative world more realistic: Pick a person - not one of your characters - who would naturally be in the scene. Call attention to them, and have them react to your main character. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #amquerying #amwriting
- Left his entire fortune to a stranger he held in contempt.
- Interesting! Is it altruism? Blackmail? A kind of “careful what you wish for” spite?
- Sometimes a round of rejections is really the universe telling you the story needs a little more work. Revise and keep trying. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- These are the high points in writing, when time, motivation, creativity, and passion all come together for a little while, and you make magic! #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I've learned recently that sacrificing clarity and trying to trick the reader for the sake of a surprise later isn't worth it. It's not about withholding information, but about building suspense. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I'm trying lately to find ways to let some of my naturally dry humor shine through in my fiction, but it's really difficult, because humor is so hard to convey in words. Or maybe I'm not as funny as I think I am. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #amquerying #amwriting
- Thesaurus.com is my go-to tool for word ... forgettedness. It's not about finding some five-syllable word you've never used before, but finding the right word that you already knew but didn't think of. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I'm taking the next three months do deep dive into self-publication, to really look at the possibilities and see if I can make it work. Any successful self-pubs have any advice for me? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Finish that novel. Shut that negative voice down and get in front of the computer and write. It probably will be bad, messy, chaotic, but it will be, and it will also be ready to revise, ready to get good. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I needed this.
- Keep writing, keep revising, keep innovating, keep sharing, keep nourishing your soul, keep taking breaks, and keep getting back to the work. Your stories are worth it! #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- Scene = Goal + Conflict + Disaster Sequel = Emotion + Dilemma + Decision The scene creates the action, but the sequel creates the reaction and emotion. Plus, the sequel creates continuity, because the "Decision" becomes the next "Goal." #writing #writingcommunity #amquerying #amwriting
- It's one of the main reasons I take melatonin. The other reasons sleep in the other bedrooms. #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- @savannah.gilbo at Fiction Writing Made Easy podcast has some great advice for revision in the latest episode, "10 Steps to Editing Your First Draft." The one that got me was to stop ending chapters without an emotional note and ending scenes without sequel. #writingcommunity #amquerying #amwriting
- Try this exercise: take any scene of dialogue you're revising, and imagine that both characters are lying - to each other or to themselves - but they're holding on to some untruth that colors everything they say. Rewrite the dialogue with the lies in mind. #writingcommunity #amquerying #amwriting
- What if your villain is just the worst parts of yourself amplified? What would be your villain's dominant character trait? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
- I like this question! I'm not sure if my worst traits would make for interesting villainy. But, here is one that is both my best and worst trait (a la Greek flaw) - tenacity. You would have a villain who sticks to things beyond any kind of reasonableness.
- Nice! A lot of flaws are just distorted and misapplied virtues.
- This requires some next-level introspection and self-critique 🥲 But: He would never get anything done. No evil deeds fulfilled. The Procrastinator would be the epitome of laziness.
- Same, bro. He’d be level 54 in Marvel Rivals, though.
- I've heard that great writing often comes from trauma, but does it have to be our own trauma? Anybody else here trying to spin that childhood straw into literary gold? #writing #writingcommunity #writer #writers #novel #shortfiction #amquerying #amwriting
