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soy-sauce-and-mothra · 7 months

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Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

#yes some of this was directed at steven universe #the only thing su got right was bismuth crying when her anvil broke #cus those things are goddamn expensive and hard to transport #blacksmith #blacksmithing #writing #writing prompts #writing advice #writeblr #writer #writer problems #writerblr #writerscommunity #writers on tumblr #writers and poets #writers

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whendidmythoughtsgocrazy · 1 month

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Because you deserve to get back just as much of the love you pour into the world.

k.b. // you do

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em-dash-press · 5 months

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I am going to take a deep breath and just remind you:

Writing is messy, even for the best authors. It's supposed to feel a little uncomfortable, exhilarating, freeing, natural, and terrifying.

It's supposed to inspire you and feel like a too-heavy backpack.

Sometimes, you're going to love being a writer and sometimes, you'll feel so disconnected, you'll wonder if you were ever a writer to begin with.

Give yourself room to make mistakes and hate your work and return to it with renewed confidence that yes, you will get 1% better next time.

It's what we're all going through. Let's speed up the growing process a little by accepting the entirety of it.

#writeblr #writing encouragement #creative writers #writing advice #writing tips #writers of tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writing inspiration #writing help #writing #writers block #writers #writers craft #writers life #writers on tumblr #writers and poets

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writers-potion · 28 days

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Words to Use Instead Of...

Beautiful

stunning

gorgeous

breath-taking

lovely

jaw-dropping

pretty

glowing

dazzling

exquisite

angelic

radiant

ravishing

excellent

ideal

sightly

wonderful

elegant

bewitching

captivating

mesmerizing

enthralling

magnetic

impressive

tasteful

charming

desirable

enchanting

Interesting

stricking

unusual

appealing

absorbing

srresting

gripping

riveting

alluring

amusing

exceptional

fascinating

impressive

provocative

prepossessing

exotic

readable

refreshing

entrancing

exceptional

Good

honest

upright

dutiful

enthical

pure

guiltless

lily-white

reputable

righteous

tractable

obedient

incorrupt

respectable

honorable

inculpable

irreprehensible

praiseworthy

well-behaved

uncorrupted

irreproachable

Awesome

wondrous

amazing

out-of-this-world

phenomenal

remarkable

stunning

fascinating

astounding

awe-inspiring

extraordinary

impressive

incredible

mind-blowing

mind-boggling

miraculous

stupendous

Cute

endeaing

adorable

lovable

sweet

lovely

appealing

engaging

delightful

darling charming

enchanting

attractive

bonny

cutesy

adorbs

dear

twee

Shy

modest

sel-effacing

sheepish

timid

way

reserved

unassured

skittish

chary

coy

hesitant

humble

introverted

unsocial

bashful

awkward

apprehensive

If you like my blog, buy me a coffee☕ and find me on instagram! 📸

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tinygayemo · 3 months

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A piece of writing advice I've always fucking hated is "only add things that further the plot." Because no. Add stuff for fun. Give your mom a cameo. Have these characters be in love because. And yes, have characters die because. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything. The universe doesn't give a reason for everything. Why should you? And if you never add stuff for fun, you're never going to have fun.

#writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writing prompts #writers and poets #writing advice

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byoldervine · 17 days

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Types Of Writer’s Block (And How To Fix Them)

1. High inspiration, low motivation. You have so many ideas to write, but you just don’t have the motivation to actually get them down, and even if you can make yourself start writing it you’ll often find yourself getting distracted or disengaged in favour of imagining everything playing out

Try just bullet pointing the ideas you have instead of writing them properly, especially if you won’t remember it afterwards if you don’t. At least you’ll have the ideas ready to use when you have the motivation later on

2. Low inspiration, high motivation. You’re all prepared, you’re so pumped to write, you open your document aaaaand… three hours later, that cursor is still blinking at the top of a blank page

RIP pantsers but this is where plotting wins out; refer back to your plans and figure out where to go from here. You can also use your bullet points from the last point if this is applicable

3. No inspiration, no motivation. You don’t have any ideas, you don’t feel like writing, all in all everything is just sucky when you think about it

Make a deal with yourself; usually when I’m feeling this way I can tell myself “Okay, just write anyway for ten minutes and after that, if you really want to stop, you can stop” and then once my ten minutes is up I’ve often found my flow. Just remember that, if you still don’t want to keep writing after your ten minutes is up, don’t keep writing anyway and break your deal - it’ll be harder to make deals with yourself in future if your brain knows you don’t honour them

4. Can’t bridge the gap. When you’re stuck on this one sentence/paragraph that you just don’t know how to progress through. Until you figure it out, productivity has slowed to a halt

Mark it up, bullet point what you want to happen here, then move on. A lot of people don’t know how to keep writing after skipping a part because they don’t know exactly what happened to lead up to this moment - but you have a general idea just like you do for everything else you’re writing, and that’s enough. Just keep it generic and know you can go back to edit later, at the same time as when you’re filling in the blank. It’ll give editing you a clear purpose, if nothing else

5. Perfectionism and self-doubt. You don’t think your writing is perfect first time, so you struggle to accept that it’s anything better than a total failure. Whether or not you’re aware of the fact that this is an unrealistic standard makes no difference

Perfection is stagnant. If you write the perfect story, which would require you to turn a good story into something objective rather than subjective, then after that you’d never write again, because nothing will ever meet that standard again. That or you would only ever write the same kind of stories over and over, never growing or developing as a writer. If you’re looking back on your writing and saying “This is so bad, I hate it”, that’s generally a good thing; it means you’ve grown and improved. Maybe your current writing isn’t bad, if just matched your skill level at the time, and since then you’re able to maintain a higher standard since you’ve learned more about your craft as time went on

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novlr · 3 months

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A quick guide to animal symbolism:

Animals have a long history of symbolism that varies between cultures and customs. As literary tropes develop, some animal symbolism has become universally recognised in the western literary canon. Here are some examples you can use in your writing to give subtext, develop motifs, or promote your thematic content.

🐥 Birds: freedom, hope, escape 🦁 Lions: strength, courage, royalty 🐶 Dogs: loyalty, devotion, protection 🐱 Cats: independence, stealth, mystery 🐺 Wolves: intelligence, nature, wildness 🦊 Foxes: cleverness, cunning, deception 🐍 Snakes: temptation, evil, deceit 🦋 Butterflies: transformation, change, new beginnings 🦉 Owls: wisdom, knowledge, mystery 🦅 Eagles: strength, freedom, nobility ◾ Ravens: death, mystery, the unknown 🕊️ Doves: peace, love, purity 🐻 Bears: resurrection, strength, power, new life 🤘 Bulls: virility, sovereignty, wealth

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the-end-society · 8 months

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The end society

If you are a writer, reader or something in between feel free to join The end society. Here we encourage you to write like its the end.

Writing prompts, remember to @the-end-society us on posts written that are inspired by our prompts for a reblog. Include prompt used.

We will also be rebloging writers we come across that we think could do with some deserved attention.

Writing advice, feel free to send asks for any particular advice. Need a vision/moodboard? Character names? Plot ideas? Or are you having a block and need encouragement? We got you.

And discussions that range from sonnet's to satire topics. Discuss in the comments or write your prepective in a poem, essay, wip excerpt or other and @ us for a reblog. Feel free to start a topic in our asks or @the-end-society us.

°March prompts list

°February prompts list

°OC prompts

°Lastest discussion

#The end society #writing community #writing prompt #writing advice #writers and poets

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dearesmeray · 2 months

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Character Traits & Quirks (For Writers)

Peace and blessings upon everyone!

I hope life's treating you well. I’m Esmeray and I welcome you to this post on my blog Dear Esmeray.

Ever wondered what makes your OC truly unforgettable? I believe it is the character traits. Character traits are what bring a character to life, or else you just have a flat, one-dimensional everyman as your OC. So today I'll be sharing with you a list of character traits that I compiled to help you develop better OCs.

Positive Traits:

Agreeable

Brave

Caring

Cheerful

Confident

Cooperative

Creative

Dedicated

Devotion

Diligent

Disciplined

Dutiful

Easygoing

Efficient

Fairness

Forgiveness

Friendly

Funny

Generous

Hard-Working

Honest

Honorable

Humble

Kind

Leadership

Love of learning

Loyal

Passionate

Persuasive

Prudent

Principled

Punctual

Reasonable

Reliable

Respectful

Responsible

Self-regulation

Social Intelligence

Supportive

Trust-worthy

Well-mannered

Witty

Wise

Neutral Traits & Quirks:

Raises Eyebrows

Blinks rapidly

Avoids eye contact

Maintains eye contact

Blinks rapidly

Slouches

Stares off into the distance

Shrugs often

Touches their scars or wounds often

Chews lips

Paces around

Smiles a lot

Rarely smiles

Gestures with hands while speaking

Often is distracted

Hums

Negative Traits:

Absentminded

Abusive

Acts superior

Alcoholic

Aggressive

Always plays the victim

Aimless

Apathetic

Arrogant

Argumentive

Avoids their problems

Bossy

Blunt

Boring

Careless

Can't take criticism

Can't take a joke

Clumsy

Conceited

Controlling

Cunning

Childish

Cruel

Deceptive

Defiant

Demanding

Disloyal

Dishonest

Dramatic

Dependent

Disorganized

Disrespectful

Distracted easy

Extravagant

Envious

Forgetful

Greedy

Holds grudges

Makes up excuses for everything

Has a reason for why nothing is ever their fault

No accountability

Hostile

Hypopocrite

Immature

Impatient

Impractical

Impressionable

Impulsive

Insensitive

Irresponsible

Not a team player

Incompetent

Irritable

Inconsiderate

Indulgent

Insecure

Jealous

Know-It-All

Lazy

Liar

Loud

Manipulative

Makes everything about them

Makes everything a joke

Their way or the highway

Mean

Meddlesome

Messy

Naive

Nosy

Obnoxious

Obbssesive

Offended easily

Overdramatic

Overreacts

Patronizing

Power-hungry

Pretentious

Rebellious

Reckless

Rude

Sarcastic

Selfish

Sensitive

Stingy

Sexist

Spoiled

Stubborn

Superstitious

Talks over others/interrupts

Too loyal

Too forgiving

Undependable

Unreliable

Unsympathetic

Unorganized

Unreasonable

Violent

Weak

Remember, there are no one-dimensional characters in real life, and there shouldn't be in your stories either. The possibilities for your characters are endless – so get creative and have fun writing!

With Love, Esmeray ♡

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the-ellia-west · 3 months

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How to make your readers Feel emotions for Dummies

(Horror edition!) aka Make your readers Tense.

Anyway, you want to know how to make your readers angry or tense? Well... have I got some useless tips for you!

First, think about what would make you tense?

Usually, you will write about things that you enjoy, therefore your readers will most likely be similar to you, so you should take your own experiences within media and just... steal them

2. Second, Use short sentences, and add onomatopoeia

Nobody likes having to make their brain work faster. And shorter sentences will actually do that. So using it is very helpful.

For example: Nothing in the house made a noise except for something dripping from the ceiling.

Vs

Nothing in the house moved. Not a noise could be heard. Not even the rustle of wind against the walls, or even her own breath. Save for one thing. Drip, drip, drip. Something falling slowly from the rafters overhead. Then, she knew.

See? Better!

3. Next, you should make sure to dance around the word was

Trust me, it just adds that much more oomph

4. Underdescribe the important shit, Overdescribe the unimportant stuff

I don't have an example for this... uh... have a nice day

5. Make your protagonist likable

Please

6. Show your readers early on you won't hesitate to do something shitty

Like kill off a protagonist who didn't actually matter, do something drastic in the story that shows your readers you aren't fucking around

Good Luck and good day!

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writing-with-sophia · 6 months

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20 Victorian-era names for girls

Adelaide: Derived from the Germanic name Adalheidis, meaning "noble" or "of noble birth."

Beatrice: Derived from the Latin name Beatrix, meaning "she who brings happiness" or "blessed."

Charlotte: Of French origin, meaning "free" or "petite."

Clara: Derived from the Latin word clarus, meaning "clear" or "bright."

Edith: Derived from the Old English name Ēadgyð, meaning "prosperous in war" or "blessed."

Eleanor: Derived from the Old French form of the name Aliénor, meaning "bright," "shining," or "light."

Florence: Derived from the Latin name Florentia, meaning "flourishing" or "prosperous."

Genevieve: Derived from the Old Germanic name Genovefa, meaning "woman of the race" or "tribe woman."

Georgiana: Feminine form of George, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."

Harriet: Derived from the French name Henriette, meaning "home ruler" or "ruler of the household."

Isabella: Derived from the Hebrew name Elisheba, meaning "God is my oath" or "devoted to God."

Josephine: Feminine form of Joseph, meaning "God will add" or "God increases."

Lillian: Derived from the Latin name Lilium, meaning "lily" or "pure."

Matilda: Derived from the Germanic name Mahthildis, meaning "mighty in battle" or "strength in battle."

Penelope: Of Greek origin, meaning "weaver" or "duck."

Rosalind: Derived from the Germanic elements hros, meaning "horse," and lind, meaning "soft" or "tender."

Victoria: Derived from the Latin word victoria, meaning "victory" or "conqueror."

Winifred: Derived from the Old English name Winefrið, meaning "friend of peace" or "blessed peacemaking."

Prudence: Derived from the Latin word prudentia, meaning "foresight" or "wisdom."

Clementine: Derived from the Latin name Clemens, meaning "merciful" or "gentle."

More names

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whendidmythoughtsgocrazy · 1 month

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You won't ever find the answer to the actions of horrible people who only want to hurt others, and do you know why? Because you're not them.

k.b. // always remember

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em-dash-press · 5 months

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Practical Benefits of Creative Writing if You Need Some Motivation

Writing stories isn't just a hobby. It's a practice that sharpens so many skills. You'll use these skills all your life, so write that silly idea and let's start refining these talents that come from our work:

(Psst—this is where you should open that copy of your resume if you're also applying for jobs!)

Communication: You know how to use words to convey complex and simple ideas.

Emotional identification (for personal benefit, not so much standard careers): You'd be surprised how many people can't name or describe their emotions, much less make them something others can feel.

Thematic analyzation: You can find or create a common thread between wildly different people.

Community building: You can bring people together by making them feel things deeply.

Perspective shaping: You make others try on new perspectives through your characters and their challenge, which also points back to your communication skills.

Encouragement: You know how to make other people dream through your work.

Empathy: You remind readers they aren't alone in their experiences—we are all going through different versions of pain together.

Typing: Let's be real, every boss will think you're amazing if you can type with more than two fingers at a time (or with two fingers really fast!).

Time management: You're always finding ways to fit your writing into your schedule, even if it's only once a month.

Commitment: because that 100,000-word fanfic won't just appear on paper because you daydreamed about it.

Self-reliance: When you set a goal to write a story, you (mostly) finish it. All on your own!

A willingness to learn: Your editing and revising work keeps you open to growth opportunities, which is essential to being a good person/team member/employee.

Organization: Those folders with all your story ideas, character outlines, and plot arcs? That's a skill, my friend.

Creativity: You're in touch with your creative instincts, which brings vision to projects and team efforts that produce better results

#writing encouragement #writeblr #writers of tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writing #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspiration #writing resources #writing help #resume help #writers #writerscommunity #writers life #writers on tumblr #writers and poets

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writers-potion · 25 days

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Can you please share some words to use instead of "Look", I really struggle with that, it's always "She looked at him in shock" or "He looked at her with a smile". I know there's "Gazed" and "Glanced" but I wanted some advice to use "Look" less

Words To Use Instead of "Look"

Words Closest in Meaning (w diff connotations!):

stare

eye

study

behold

glimpse

peek

glance

notice

observe

inspect

regarding

view

review

look-see

get an eyeful

peer

give the eye

eyeball

size up

check out

examine

contemplate

scan

recognize

sweep

once-over

judge

watch

glare

consider

spot

scrunitize

gaze

gander

ogle

yawp

Other (more fancy) words:

glimmer

sntach

zero in

take stock of

poke into

mope

glaze

grope

rummage

frisk

probe

rivet

distinguish

witness

explore

gloat

scowl

have a gander

comb

detect

surveillance

squint

keeping watch

rubberneck

pout

bore

slant

ignore

audit

pipe

search

note

speculation

simper

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future-journalist-adventures · 1 month

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list of writing software i use (in order) (they're all free!!)

Reedsy (rough draft writing; editing)

world anvil (organizing information and rough draft posting)

lulu (final draft publishing)

#writeblr #writers and poets #writers on tumblr #writing #writing aesthetic #author #creative writing #journalist aesthetic #writerscommunity #writing tips #writing community #writing inspiration #writing advice #writer #writing software

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byoldervine · 30 days

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How To (Realistically) Make A Habit Of Writing

To clarify: Works with my autism. WORKS WITH MY AUTISM!!! I’ve been meeting my goals since I made them my New Year’s resolution! Anyway I’m so sick of all those ‘how to’ guides that don’t actually tell you what the process is they’re just like ‘just do it, but don’t burn yourself out, do what’s best for you!’ because you’re not telling me what I’m not supposed to be burning myself out over but okay, so I made my own. Hope this helps

1. Choose your fighter metric. What works better for you as a measurement of your progress; time spent writing or your word count? Personally I get very motivated and encouraged by seeing my word count go up and making a note of where it should be when I’m done, so I measure by that. At the same time, a lot of people are also very discouraged by their word count and it can negatively impact their motivation to write, and in that case you may be better off working from how much time you spend writing rather than where the word count is

2. Choose your starter Pokémon time frame. How often can you write before it starts to feel like a chore or a burden rather than something fun you look forward to? Many people believe that they have to write daily, but for some people this can do more harm than good. Maybe every two or three days? Weekly? Figure out what fits your schedule and go with it

3. Choose your funny third joke goal. Now that you’ve got your chosen time frame to complete your goal in, what’s a reasonable goal to aim to complete within that time frame based on the metric you chose? If your metric is your word count, how much can you reasonably and consistently write within your chosen time frame? If your metric is time spent writing, how much time can you reasonably and consistently spend writing within that time? Maybe 1000 words per week works, or maybe 10 minutes per day? The goal here is to find something that works for you and your own schedule without burning you out

4. Trial and error. Experiment with your new target and adapt it accordingly. Most people can’t consistently write 1667 words per day like you do in NaNoWriMo, so we want to avoid that and aim somewhere more reasonable. If you feel like it’s too much to do in such a short time frame, either give yourself less to do or more time to do it in. If you find yourself begrudgingly writing so often that it constantly feels more like a chore than something fun, maybe consider adapting things. And if you think that you gave yourself too much wiggle room and you could do more than this consistently, give yourself more of a challenge. Everything needs to suit you and your pace and needs

5. Run your own race. Don’t feel like you’re not accomplishing enough in comparison to others or not working fast enough to satisfy some arbitrary feeling of doubt. Everybody works at their own pace and slower work doesn’t mean worse work. You could be on one word per day and you’ll still see consistent results, which is still one word per day more than you could originally count on. All progress is progress, regardless of its speed

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