Writing Problems - Tumblr Posts - Page 4

It's literally me🤭😭

Does anyone else have their notes app filled with story/fanfic ideas that they'll never publish/post?

I need technology to advance to the point where I can just transfer the story in my head into a complete word doc. I don't have it in me to finish any of my wips.😭😭😭😭

Me singing along to Shine Like Rainbows while editing the aftermath of my characters possible torture:

I needed this today. I could cry.

it’s okay if you’re struggling to write today. some days the words flow, some days they don’t. what matters is that you showed up. your story isn’t going anywhere, and neither are you.

Thank christ, I thought it was just me.

“you’re a writer, can you explain your process?” yes. first, i panic. then i procrastinate. then, in a fit of productivity at 3 a.m., i create chaos.

I ... I feel called out.

Sorry Sephy.

If You’re Writing a Female Character, Avoid these Bad Writing Mistakes

Avoid focusing solely on how she looks, what she wears, or how attractive she is to others.

Don’t make her dependent on male characters for rescue or decision-making.

Avoid giving her unrealistic abilities without any training or explanation.

Avoid portraying her as constantly crying, screaming, or overly dramatic without depth.

Don’t make her entire character arc revolve around finding love or getting married.

Avoid creating her as the only female in a predominantly male cast just for diversity points.

Avoid having her dialogue filled with stereotypical phrases and overused expressions.

Ensure she has realistic imperfections and challenges to overcome.

We're at 11653 atm-

Passed the 10k by a lot, wohoo! Only going up from here but hhhh Hell I know, there's still difficult scenes to write-

Sad...but very very true.

SIT DOWN AND WRITE.

HOW EASY THAT SOUNDS.

ALL I DO IS SIT DOWN AND STARE AT A BLANK PAGE, STRESSING AND DRINK WATER ‘CAUSE I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PUT THERE A FUCKING STORY.

SO YEA, TELL ME HOW THE FUCK YOU SIT DOWN AND ACTUALLY WRITE.

i want to write but i don't know what to write

opening pinterest can be the best you can do (in case you get inspiration and ideas and actually write them) or the worse (in case you spend hours just vibin there collecting vague ideas in images without ever writing anything).

in my case, it’s always the second one.

me: i'm gonna write brain: oh pinterest- me: DON'T. brain: oh *various random thoughts about various random topics not related to writing* me: DON'T. GET. DISTRACTED.

That feeling when you just wanna read a story that hasn't been written.

Like I know I gotta write it, but I just wanna read it, you know? I have the energy to envision it every waking moment of my day, but sitting down and actually writing it?

No thank you.

me, sitting down when i finally have time to write: im so excited to finally get work done

me, three hours later because as soon as i have free time i lose any and all inspiration and the ability to write well:

Lord grant me the tenacity of the typo that has persisted through six (6) full drafts

I have definitely gotten hung up on character names before, spending goodness-knows-how-long hammering out ideas until I hit the perfect one because if I don’t have the name right, I have a difficult time actually writing them.

I have also had instances of looking over something I wrote back in high school or college where I clearly went, “[Unusual Name]? Oh, yeah, that fits perfectly in this setting.” (Spoilers: it didn’t.) Names that were either just really awkward to say—often because I picked several random consonants and then just jammed vowels in between, or because I was trying to do a deep “Aragorn, son of Arathorn” thing with them but was starting with a much stupider name—or were far too “fantasy” to fit into a modern real-world setting. I’ve got note files where I made changes to various character names to make them better, so I would remember what changes happened to those stories.

Does anyone else have a mental roadblock when it comes to giving a character an unusual or unique name? I mean this within the context of this character being a twenty-something woman and the work being more along the lines of general/realistic or literary fiction, yet the name almost coming across like something in a young adult “not-like-other-girls” tale.

Names can really impact a character, and I’m one of those writers who gets stuck until the name is perfect for that character.

Google targeted ads: Oh, hey, you need pet supplies? Cleaning supplies because your dog made a mess? How about vet services?

Me: I was just wondering what a dog kennel tends to smell like because I don’t own a dog and I need to describe it!

Google targeted ads: Bitch, you need to see a DOCTOR. STOP GOOGLING SHIT AND SEEK HELP.

Me: Bitch, I am a WRITER. STOP TRYING TO SELL ME MEDICATIONS FOR CONDITIONS I DON'T HAVE.

This is why I turn off grammar check on writing software I use. The suggestions are rarely, if ever, actually useful to me, and are often nonsensical. One that my friend, editing a chapter for me, mentioned was the suggestion to change "He rose from his crouch" to "He rose from his crotch," which we both giggled over.

When I say editing software is getting dumber, this is what I mean.

In what world is "What dinnered?" more legible than "What happened to dinner?" I just... what?!