m-s-harris:
redportrait:
me, having deeply fallen out of the practice of writing poetry: I can’t write any more, I am now a Talentless Hack
the voice of my 11th grade journalism/12th grade creative writing teacher who rly did know everything: if you stop writing for a while the words will build up and stagnate. to clear the water, you will have to open the dam completely, and accept the fact that what initially comes out will not be palatable
This. This is so true. Starting again is more important than what you actually write. You are rusty. You’ll build up momentum again. All you need to do is start.
(via summerofspock)
the-golden-comet:
seeingteacupsindragons:
Was wishing there was a positivity post for original fiction writers since I see so many about how fanfic writers are doing so much for their communities even when they’re not actively writing, and then I thought:
Be the change you want to see in the world.
So this is a positivity post for the writers out here who are working very hard on stories with no established community. Who can’t talk about their blorbos and plot lines and brainstorming to anyone and expect them to know what any of it means. Who don’t have much to share publicly, but are hoping they will one day.
You’re doing a lot of hard work, and I recognize and appreciate what you’re putting into the world, even when you’re resting.
Reblogging for all of my Original Fiction mutuals. I see you. I love your works. You’re working hard, and I RESPECT you 👏👏👏
(via antikate)
cosette141:
Give yourself permission to write garbage.
This is the best writing advice I have ever received. Ever.
Anytime I either find myself intimidated by writing something or I simply can’t seem to get words moving, I use this. It’s great for the run of the mill perfectionist, as well.
Giving yourself permission to write garbage means letting yourself do something imperfectly. I always use this when I can’t seem to find a place to start, and I set out to write the “worst version” of whatever I’m writing. Not only do I give myself permission to write badly; I ask myself to. Instead of writing something eloquent like “the banisters were carved straight out of Queen Victoria’s past” I’ll write “the banisters were fancy-looking and stuff”. Or rather than coming up with the beautiful world building of the setting, I’ll just start with “they’re outside and it’s pretty” and move on.
Every time I do this, perhaps the first line or two will be a little worse for wear, but as a whole, never comes out “bad”. You’re just giving yourself the opportunity to write a “first coat”, if you will, and then add onto it when you edit later. And often I just need this advice to write the first sentence, and then I’m in the flow again. For me, at least, if I didn’t do this when I needed it, I’d just sit paralyzed at my computer staring at a blinking cursor. I’d rather just type some garbage that I can edit later than have nothing at all.
It’s simple and it’s silly (and sometimes cringe-worthy), but it gets you writing and that’s all that matters.
(via ineffable-houseplants)
lucybellwood:
neil-gaiman:
You don’t ever know. You just have to believe.
Berryman
by W. S. Merwin
I will tell you what he told me
in the years just after the war
as we then called
the second world war
don’t lose your arrogance yet he said
you can do that when you’re older
lose it too soon and you may
merely replace it with vanity
just one time he suggested
changing the usual order
of the same words in a line of verse
why point out a thing twice
he suggested I pray to the Muse
get down on my knees and pray
right there in the corner and he
said he meant it literally
it was in the days before the beard
and the drink but he was deep
in tides of his own through which he sailed
chin sideways and head tilted like a tacking sloop
he was far older than the dates allowed for
much older than I was he was in his thirties
he snapped down his nose with an accent
I think he had affected in England
as for publishing he advised me
to paper my wall with rejection slips
his lips and the bones of his long fingers trembled
with the vehemence of his views about poetry
he said the great presence
that permitted everything and transmuted it
in poetry was passion
passion was genius and he praised movement and invention
I had hardly begun to read
I asked how can you ever be sure
that what you write is really
any good at all and he said you can’t
you can’t you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don’t write
(from Migration: New & Selected Poems - Copper Canyon Press, 2005, accessed via The Poetry Foundation)
lianabrooks:
wildxwired:
How fucking annoying is it when you feel so restless with creative energy but you can’t decide what to do with it and when you finally try to create something it comes out shit so you just give up and sit there being all creatively annoyed and jittery.
1 - Decision Making Fatigue is a thing.
–> Make a list of possibilities.
–> Use a random number generator to pick something off the list.
–> If you hate the idea cross it off and generate a new number.
–> Continue until you either find a project or cross off the whole list.
–> If you cross off the whole list pick a random short story prompt, write for five minutes, and call it a good work day.
2. Yeah, of course your rough draft sucks. It’s supposed to.
–> Let it suck.
–> You can fix it in edits.
3. When you’re stressed you aren’t unbiased about your work.
–> Don’t judge your work while your are actively working on it.
–> Remember to drink water, take your meds/vitamins, eat something, and get sleep.
–> Double-check to make sure the restless creative energy is not displaced emotional worries over something else. If it is, displace with intention and let the worries go into your work. You shouldn’t keep stress in your head, put it on a page, or canvas, or in a carving, or a meal, or something. Get it out and let it go.
4. No work is ever wasted.
–> All time spent planning and creating is useful in some way.
–> Failure means you tried, which is good.
–> Try again. Fail harder. Fail better.
–> Keep going until you like what you’re making.
5. Love yourself enough to allow yourself to not be perfect.
–> Seriously.
–> If this is a struggle I highly recommend seeing a doctor or therapist about depression.
–> Because you are dang lovable, my friend. You rock. You do great things. I’m proud of you.
(via insomniac-dot-ink)
jordanlhawk:
notactuallyaduck:
fiction-is-not-reality:
In bigger letters for those in the back:
As a critiquer, your job is not to “make this piece of writing better” but to understand what the writer wants to achieve and help them to achieve it
Applies beyond writing as well.
Also applies to editing. I was recently talking to another writer whose editor (at a publisher) almost destroyed her desire to keep writing. Writers, know the signs of a shitty editor versus one who actually wants to help you achieve your vision, and don’t be afraid to ask for a different one. (Or fire a bad one if you’re indy.)
(via goodomensficrecommendations)
allthingswhumpyandangsty:
please please please please reblog if you’re a writer and have at some point felt like your writing is getting worse. I need to know if I’m the only one who’s struggling with these thoughts
very important tags by @antikate
(via antikate)
limnsaber:
willowcrowned:
if we want the rewards of posting our fic we must submit to the mortifying ordeal of editing the damn thing
if we want the rewards of posting our fic we must submit to the mortifying ordeal of writing the damn thing
(via avelera)
