Latest Posts by labyrinthians - Page 5

Editing Junk Words

There are words that (most of the time) are best to be left out of or changed in your draft. So CTRL+F your draft and get into the nitty gritty!*

*what you keep or change is up to you and your writing style. :)

Very

Would you rather someone say you’re very good or that you’re AMAZING. Changing “very ____” to one word usually hypes it up and gets the point across better. Check out my list of alternatives!

Just

Good to keep some in 1st Person especially, but it can saturate your writing very quickly. So be careful! 

Really

Can be replaced by alternatives of “very ___” in a lot of cases. More likely to appear and seem natural in 1st Person, but you do you.

Said

Not always the bad guy, but if you need something new, check out my alternatives for “said”!

In order

“In order to achieve this plot…” can be “To achieve this plot…” and perform the same effect, if not more effectively. 

That

A typically casual and informal filler word. If you don’t need it or don’t feel it fits, cut it!

Quite

Works best in dialogue, not really anywhere else.

Seemed

This is pretty boring and lacks intricacy IMO. Check out my alternatives for “seemed”!

Thing

Not always a junk word, but it can be. Use your discretion. 

Utilize

“Utilize” is a more pretentious version of “use”. But if it’s put in a pretentious character’s dialogue/narration and the shoe fits… utilize it.

Got

“She got bananas” is way less interesting than “she bought bananas” or “she stole bananas” or “she harvested bananas”. The word “got” cuts out an opportunity for details/characterization. Replacing it lessens repetition as well.

Went

Shares similarities with “seemed” and “got”. It kills a chance for more detail. Check out my alternatives for “went”!

getting over the fear of being bad is so fucking hard… like, it’s literally a super power if you can start something and say ‘it doesn’t matter if it’s bad, it just matters that it exists’

‘bad’ is so terrifying, ‘bad’ is wrecking, and the ability to apply self-compassion to things deemed ‘bad’ is beyond amazing, to understand not everything in life will be ‘good’ and that’s okay

essays, art, novels, school, relationships, anyone out there starting things when they are terrified of the arbitrary metric of the result… I am so fucking proud of you, you are so brave and strong

keep starting new things, even if ‘bad’ is a possibility 

calling all ~teenage~ writeblrs !!

like/reblog this post if:

you’re 18 or younger

you’re a writer

that’s pretty much it!!

i want to see more people my age on my dash, not just because i love seeing other young writers trying to reach their goals, but also because it’s nice to know that we’re not alone in balancing writing with school, friends, extracurricular activities, jobs, and everything else:)

(feel free to boost this if you want, even if you’re <18!!)

cast fat people in normal roles that do not revolve around being fat/ridiculed, I dare you

Hiya!

This is my official writeblr intro i guess?? YAY FOR ME! I don’t really know what info i should add except for the following;

I’ve been writing ever since i was young, but i finally took it up as a real hobby around three years ago. My pronouns are they/them and you can call me sunny or Sarah. I usually write short stories but i am working on a fantasy murder mystery novel that will also be a screenplay (eventually.) I usually write realistic fiction, fantasy or mysteries. Recently I’ve been branching out into horror and I’ve found out I’m not half bad. 

this is so good!!! and funny omg. your characters are adorable and really interesting

Mimi’s Guide to Definitely Not Being Kidnapped by Faeries - Chapter 3

Chapter One: x

Chapter Two: x

Chapter Three

Keep reading

reminder to self to fucking GO WILD with any piece of writing. just. have FUN type absolute utter bs and abandon that planned-to-publish wip to work on something you like, turn the same daydream around and look at it from every angle and write it down no matter if it‘s fanfic, cliche or doesn‘t fit in any wip ALL OF THIS IS PRACTICING AND IT‘S ALSO FUN SO YOU CAN‘T DO ANYTHING WRONG HERE

hello!!! i’m a writeblr!

if you’re a writblr, reblog this and I’ll follow you

trying to reach as many writblrs to learn from all of your knowledge:) 

Tag Yourself: Hogwarts Houses as Types of Writer

Gryffindor: adventure stories, hero's journey, cocky characters, feats of derring-do, writing sprints, writer's block is their personal enemy, battered notebooks stained with careless coffee spills, borrows pens and forgets to return them, a disaster pantser

Hufflepuff: children's books and whimsy, settings full of flowers, massive worlds to explore, quaint villages, romance and friendship, cosy writing nooks, glitter gel pens, scented candles to set the writing mood, classic plantser who follows the fun

Ravenclaw: poetry and philosophy, writes at a desk laden with books, extensive notes in the margins, sticky notes and highlighters, drafts the same page six times and still can't decide, gets distracted by reading, repulsed by the mere thought of writing out of order, always wins NaNoWriMo

Slytherin: dark academia and grim fantasy, snarky heroes and obnoxious villains, hidden passageways and red herrings, fountain pens and Moleskin journals, meticulous plotter, success out of spite, cries when they kill characters but will never admit it

You know what’s a million times more exciting than a random plot twist that comes out of nowhere? A plot twist that was foreshadowed by things you didn’t realize were foreshadowing at first. Nothing makes me go absolutely bananas like the feeling of “oh FUCK…[seemingly unrelated thing] WAS FORESHADOWING”

when you’re trying to write and your last two functioning brain cells start yelling at each other

HEY ARTISTS!

Do you design a lot of characters living in not-modern eras and you’re tired of combing through google for the perfect outfit references? Well I got good news for you kiddo, this website has you covered! Originally @modmad made a post about it, but her link stopped working and I managed to fix it, so here’s a new post. Basically, this is a costume rental website for plays and stage shows and what not, they have outfits for several different decades from medieval to the 1980s. LOOK AT THIS SELECTION:

OPEN ANY CATEGORY AND OH LORDY–

There’s a lot of really specific stuff in here, I design a lot of 1930s characters for my ask blog and with more chapters on the way for the game it belongs to I’m gonna be designing more, and this website is going to be an invaluable reference. I hope this can be useful to my other fellow artists as well! :)

bro… are you writing mean things about yourself online..?

stop saying these things.. u gotta stop using maladaptive coping humour to demean and belittle yourself so much.. i just want u to be kinder to urself bro

a psa:

fuck negativity about your own work! be PROUD!!!! it may not be the best work you’ve ever done, but you got words down! don’t let yourself be over critical!!! if you don’t like what you wrote, be proud of the effort you put in

just a friendly reminder

you’re allowed to be proud of your own writing.

you’re allowed to show it to people and tell them you think it’s great.

you’re allowed to feel good about your skills as a writer.

you don’t have to, and a little self-criticism is what we need to get better, but you’re allowed to. and you should. don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.

gentle writing reminder that not every line has to be pure gold!! in fact, not every line should be all profound and deep. you have to set things up, and simple action and dialogue and description will happen and that’s okay! not every word you write has to be earth shattering!!!!! writing and building worlds takes a lot and you cant expect every sentence to be profound. this is okay! this is normal! what’s important is getting the words out and writing what needs to be written, and i’m sure there will be some gems in there!

Writer: I don’t know if anybody will like my story. I’ve never done it before. What if it’s too hard? I’m not sure of anything, I’m second-guessing it, I’m scared that it’ll turn out bad. What if I try my best and still fail? What if my idea is overdone or cliche? Would anybody even be interested in what I have to say? Me, sobbing on my knees: please… write the fuckigngbgng book… stop doubting yourself into a corner… you’ll never know how good you are until you have work to reflect upon… time is limited, and it only runs forward, so please do the same! 

we’re gonna write our novels and we’re gonna FINISH them and it’s gonna be GREAT and we’re gonna fall in love w it every time we read it.

here i am on writeblr!!!

hello everyone! my name is madeleine! i’m sixteen, i use she/her pronouns, and i’m just a little nervous posting on here. i’ve been lurking in the writeblr tag for a few weeks but until now i hadn’t mustered up the confidence to put myself out there. but hey! i’m excited now. i don’t have enough real-life writer friends. i love seeing people talk about their wips and hearing different creative ideas.

i’ve been writing for about eight years. i adore reading and writing ya. in terms of genres, i’m not very picky, but i enjoy writing horror (though i haven’t experimented too much with it yet) and all kinds of fantasy. i’m also a bit of a hopeless romantic.

my own projects:

most recently, i’ve worked on this weird idea that popped into my head in the middle of the night because apparently my brain only works when it isn’t supposed to. the tentative title is way down in hellebore but. i’m not sure i like it so. very subject to change. it follows three very different kids, all from different time periods and different places in--and out of--the world who mysteriously all end up lumped together in a bleak nowhere town. the last thing any of them can remember is killing someone, intentionally or not.

i also have an unnamed spooky story set in victorian london. it centers around a strange mother and her daughter who are notorious for seances and a family who comes to them, looking for a way to communicate with their recently deceased mother.

anyways. i would appreciate it if you reblog this if you happen to come across it. i really want to interact with/follow new people and enter the community!! thank you!! :)

writeblrs reblog please :-)

i only follow a few writeblrs so i decided to make one of these posts. please reblog if you are a writeblr and you write/post:

fantasy

historical fiction

contemporary fiction

horror

writing references

moodboards

edits

and just a reminder, i follow from @opcnarms so if you see it that’s me!💗

Famous authors, their writings and their rejection letters.

Sylvia Plath: There certainly isn’t enough genuine talent for us to take notice.

Rudyard Kipling: I’m sorry Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language.

Emily Dickinson: [Your poems] are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities.

Ernest Hemingway (on The Torrents of Spring): It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it.

Dr. Seuss: Too different from other juveniles on the market to warrant its selling.

The Diary of Anne Frank: The girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the ‘curiosity’ level.

Richard Bach (on Jonathan Livingston Seagull): will never make it as a paperback. (Over 7.25 million copies sold)

H.G. Wells (on The War of the Worlds): An endless nightmare. I do not believe it would “take”…I think the verdict would be ‘Oh don’t read that horrid book’. And (on The Time Machine): It is not interesting enough for the general reader and not thorough enough for the scientific reader.

Edgar Allan Poe: Readers in this country have a decided and strong preference for works in which a single and connected story occupies the entire volume.

Herman Melville (on Moby Dick): We regret to say that our united opinion is entirely against the book as we do not think it would be at all suitable for the Juvenile Market in [England]. It is very long, rather old-fashioned…

Jack London: [Your book is] forbidding and depressing.

William Faulkner: If the book had a plot and structure, we might suggest shortening and revisions, but it is so diffuse that I don’t think this would be of any use. My chief objection is that you don’t have any story to tell. And two years later: Good God, I can’t publish this!

Stephen King (on Carrie): We are not interested in science fiction which deals with negative utopias. They do not sell.

Joseph Heller (on Catch–22): I haven’t really the foggiest idea about what the man is trying to say… Apparently the author intends it to be funny – possibly even satire – but it is really not funny on any intellectual level … From your long publishing experience you will know that it is less disastrous to turn down a work of genius than to turn down talented mediocrities.

George Orwell (on Animal Farm): It is impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.

Oscar Wilde (on Lady Windermere’s Fan): My dear sir, I have read your manuscript. Oh, my dear sir.

Vladimir Nabokov (on Lolita): … overwhelmingly nauseating, even to an enlightened Freudian … the whole thing is an unsure cross between hideous reality and improbable fantasy. It often becomes a wild neurotic daydream … I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was turned down so many times, Beatrix Potter initially self-published it.

Lust for Life by Irving Stone was rejected 16 times, but found a publisher and went on to sell about 25 million copies.

John Grisham’s first novel was rejected 25 times.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) received 134 rejections.

Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) received 121 rejections.

Gertrude Stein spent 22 years submitting before getting a single poem accepted.

Judy Blume, beloved by children everywhere, received rejections for two straight years.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle received 26 rejections.

Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 20 times.

Carrie by Stephen King received 30 rejections.

The Diary of Anne Frank received 16 rejections.

Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rolling was rejected 12 times.

Dr. Seuss received 27 rejection letters

I think it’s important to support your local underwriter writers, overwriter writers, two-draft writers, seven draft writers, didn’t outline a single thing writers, literally outlined every single thing, small volume writers, big volume writers, writers who write every day, writers who write twice a month, literary writers, commercial genre writers, writers who are authors, writers who are aspiring authors, just writers in general!