silvmoonsky

[silvmoonsky]

Weird Brain Hacks That Help Me Write

I'm a consistently inconsistent writer/aspiring novelist, member of the burnt-out-gifted-kid-to-adult-ADHD-diagnosis-pipeline, recently unemployed overachiever, and person who's sick of hearing the conventional neurotypical advice to dealing with writer's block (i.e. "write every single day," or "there's no such thing as writer's block- if you're struggling to write, just write" Like F*CK THAT. Thank you, Brenda, why don't you go and tell someone with diabetes to just start producing more insulin?)

I've yet to get to a point in my life where I'm able to consistently write at the pace I want to, but I've come a long way from where I was a few years ago. In the past five years I've written two drafts of a 130,000 word fantasy novel (currently working on the third) and I'm about 50,000 words in on the sequel. I've hit a bit of a snag recently, but now that I've suddenly got a lot of time on my hands, I'm hoping to revamp things and return to the basics that have gotten me to this point and I thought I might share.

1) My first draft stays between me and God

I find that I and a lot of other writers unfortunately have gotten it into our heads that first drafts are supposed to resemble the finished product and that revisions are only for fixing minor mistakes. Therefore, if our first draft sucks that must mean we suck as writers and having to rewrite things from scratch means that means our first draft is a failure.

I'm here to say that is one of the most detrimental mentalities you can have as a writer.

Ever try drawing a circle? You know how when you try to free-hand draw a perfect circle in one go, it never turns out right? Whereas if you scribble, say, ten circles on top of one another really quickly and then erase the messy lines until it looks like you drew a circle with a singular line, it ends up looking pretty decent?

Yeah. That's what the drafting process is.

Your first draft is supposed to suck. I don't care who you are, but you're never going to write a perfect first draft, especially if you're inexperienced. The purpose of the first draft is to lay down a semi-workable foundation. A really loose, messy sketch if you will. Get it all down on paper, even if it turns out to be the most cliche, cringe-inducing writing you've ever done. You can work out those kinks in the later drafts. The hardest part of the first draft is the most crucial part: getting started. Don't stress yourself out and make it even harder than it already is.

If that means making a promise to yourself that no one other than you will ever read your first draft unless it's over your cold, dead body, so be it.

2) Tell perfectionism to screw off by writing with a pen

I used to exclusively write with pencil until I realized I was spending more time erasing instead of writing.

Writing with a pen keeps me from editing while I right. Like, sometimes I'll have to cross something out or make notes in the margins, but unlike erasing and rewriting, this leaves the page looking like a disaster zone and that's a good thing.

If my writing looks like a complete mess on paper, that helps me move past the perfectionist paralysis and just focus on getting words down on the page. Somehow seeing a page full of chicken scratch makes me less worried about making my writing all perfect and pretty- and that helps me get on with my main goal of fleshing out ideas and getting words on a page.

3) It's okay to leave things blank when you can't think of the right word

My writing, especially my first draft, is often filled with ___ and .... and (insert name here) and red text that reads like stage directions because I can't think of what is supposed to go there or the correct way to write it.

I found it helps to treat my writing like I do multiple choice tests. Can't think of the right answer? Just skip it. Circle it, come back to it later, but don't let one tricky question stall you to the point where you run out of brain power or run out of time to answer the other questions.

If I'm on a role, I'm not gonna waste it by trying to remember that exact word that I need or figure out the right transition into the next scene or paragraph. I'm just going to leave it blank, mark to myself that I'll need to fix the problem later, and move on.

Trust me. This helps me sooooo much with staying on a roll.

4) Write Out of Order

This may not be for everyone, but it works wonders for me.

Sure, the story your writing may need to progress chronologically, but does that mean you need to write it chronologically? No. It just needs to be written.

I generally don't do this as much for editing, but for writing, so long as you're making progress, it doesn't matter if it's in the right order. Can't think of how to structure Chapter 2, but you have a pretty good idea of how your story's going to end? Write the ending then. You'll have to go back and write Chapter 2 eventually, but if you're feeling more motivated to write a completely different part of the book, who's to say you can't do that?

When I'm working on a project, I start off with a single document that I title "Scrap for (Project Title)" and then just write whatever comes to mind, in whatever order. Once I've gotten enough to work with, then I start outlining my plot and predicting how many chapters I'm going to need. Then, I create separate google docs for each individual chapter and work on them in whatever order I feel like, often leaving several partially complete as I jump from one to the other. Then, as each one gets finished, I copy and paste the chapter into the full manuscript document. This means that the official "draft" could have Chapters 1 and 9, but completely be missing Chapters 2-8, and that's fine. It's not like anyone will ever know once I finish it.

Sorry for the absurdly long post. Hopes this helps someone. Maybe I'll share more tricks in the future.

#writing #writing advice

[silvmoonsky]

Reblog to make him lose another 200 billion, like to make him lose 1 billion

[silvmoonsky]

[silvmoonsky]

also as a 22yr old who has been on tumblr basically daily for the last six years or so

i’m thinking it’s time to start weaning myself off of this goddamn shitstorm of a website

[silvmoonsky]

Everyone seemed to really need/appreciate this last time I did it so I'm doing it again:

[silvmoonsky]

It's so funny getting into heated discussions about reading preference styles with some people. I'm in a Discord group chat, and the topic of different POVs in fiction came up, and it was apparently a popular opinion in the group that multiple POVs in a book is "garbage" and "hot trash."

I kind of laughed it off as a funny quirk, then mentioned I couldn't relate because I find singular POVs to be extremely dull and a major turn-off when it comes to reading. But y'know, to each their own. Brains like what they like.

The temperature of the group chat got noticeably chillier, and I was informed curtly that several people in the group write singular POVs and I should think before I speak.

I said I know, just like they know I write multiple POVs, but they felt fine trashing that.

"Well, that's different."

"Why?"

"Because you're a fluke. No one likes reading multiple POVs."

Oh-kay. Again, I didn't want to get heated over it and again reiterated that not everyone's writing style will vibe for everyone. I then helpfully added, "It's like, y'know. I don't particularly enjoy first-person narratives, either. They feel juvenile to me, probably because they're predominant in a lot of YA lit, and it's jarring to read in adult fic. Doesn't mean it's bad; it just means I don't like it."

Anyway. I'll let you know when they're done burning me at the stake.

#yes to multiple povs and 3rd person #idc which kind

[silvmoonsky]

#its complicated #bc yes i do like it but also i havent engaged in content for it in awhile

[silvmoonsky]

i watched the new ml movie and even though i have several gripes with it, i just wanted to say that my ladynoir heart was extremely satisfied, their dynamic was immaculate <3 overall i really enjoyed it hehe

#i havent watched canon in like 2 years and ive been out of the fandom for the same amount of time #but im glad i watched the movie :D it was really nostalgic seeing my fav bug girl and cat boy save the world and fall in love <3 #silv.txt

[silvmoonsky]

all goofing aside I genuinely don't understand the urge to reimagine Taylor Allison Swift as a secretly queer icon when the pop music scene(TM) is like. literally overflowing with women who actually like women. Gaga and Kesha and Miley and Halsey are right there. Rina Sawayama and Hayley Kiyoko and Rebecca Black and Kehlani and Victoria Monét and Miya Folick if you're willing to get slightly less top 100. Janelle and Demi for them nonbinary takes on liking girls. like what are we doing here. like I'm not even saying you can't enjoy Taylor but why would you hang all your little gay hopes on her.

[silvmoonsky]

[silvmoonsky]

Stop! Releasing 2 minute songs!! Idc about TikTok!!! If it's a banger it needs to be at least 3:30.

[silvmoonsky]

One of the best writing advice I have gotten in all the months I have been writing is "if you can't go anywhere from a sentence, the problem isn't in you, it's in the last sentence." and I'm mad because it works so well and barely anyone talks about it. If you're stuck at a line, go back. Backspace those last two lines and write it from another angle or take it to some other route. You're stuck because you thought up to that exact sentence and nothing after that. Well, delete that sentence, make your brain think because the dead end is gone. It has worked wonders for me for so long it's unreal

#writing #writing advice

[silvmoonsky]

reblog if you like boobs or haven’t been happy in months

[silvmoonsky]

Even if it was for one year in fifth grade <3

Extra points for leaving in tags for how many years and if you still do

#violin #i played piano a little too

[silvmoonsky]

fat people are allowed to be fat even if they don’t starve themselves or push themselves physically past their limits btw

[silvmoonsky]

[silvmoonsky]

i genuinely dont care if the creation of all media comes to a screeching halt btw i will very gladly live with no new movies no new tv shows no new anything for years if that's what it takes for the people who create them to be treated like human beings. i hope every other facet of the entertainment industry goes on strike too and i hope all the ones that havent unionised yet will. i want media creation to become completely impossible and i want the people who could make it possible again to hold out until they get every single thing they want. btw