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Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

#writing advice

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If your plot feels flat, STUDY it! Your story might be lacking...

Stakes - What would happen if the protagonist failed? Would it really be such a bad thing if it happened?

Thematic relevance - Do the events of the story speak to a greater emotional or moral message? Is the conflict resolved in a way that befits the theme?

Urgency - How much time does the protagonist have to complete their goal? Are there multiple factors complicating the situation?

Drive - What motivates the protagonist? Are they an active player in the story, or are they repeatedly getting pushed around by external forces? Could you swap them out for a different character with no impact on the plot? On the flip side, do the other characters have sensible motivations of their own?

Yield - Is there foreshadowing? Do the protagonist's choices have unforeseen consequences down the road? Do they use knowledge or clues from the beginning, to help them in the end? Do they learn things about the other characters that weren't immediately obvious?

#writing advice

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If I don’t write for too long, the words build up inside of me until they come spilling out

#usually at 2 in the morning or something #writeblr

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— MARIE HOWE.

#others’ writing #inspiration

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”What if nobody likes my story?” Well do you like it? Your story will always have at least one fan. Write for yourself and the right audience will come along.

#encouragement

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when georges bataille wrote, “no greater desire exists than a wounded person’s need for another wound” & when gillian flynn wrote, “a child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort” & when ocean vuong wrote, “sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined” & when lisa m. basile wrote, “did you inherit a sickness? did you blame god? do you believe in god? do you believe in yourself? are you still on fire? did you ever put out the fire?” & when stephen a. guirgis wrote, “why didn't you make me good enough so that you could’ve loved me?”

#others’ writing #inspiration

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at this rate i think i could basically be human by the end of the year

#oc: calypso

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When I finish writing one chapter after two months of writer's block:

At this rate I'll finish in approximately 19 YEARS! wait...

#humor

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• Pinned Post •

I'm Carter, welcome to my digital abode. My main blog is @ivorygrace. I've loved reading and writing for a long time, particularly fantasy and poetry, and I’m a big fan of things that are complex and abstract.

More about my current projects under the cut:

wip ✌️😗