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My writing advice for new writers

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@bluebxlle_writer on Instagram

1. Write for yourself

This is the #1 tip I will always give to writers, so you've probably heard me say this a few times. Don't write for others, but write for yourself.

People have different tastes. There will always be some who dislike your book, and some who consider it their favorite. Lots of people hate famous books like Percy Jackson or Six Of Crows, and I'm sure you've disliked a popular book before. So instead of writing a book that others would read, start writing a book that you would read. If you end up liking your book, I can assure you that many others will too.

2. Flesh out characters

When you're excited to write a new WIP, you might delay your character building process and decide to start writing while trying to figure out the characterization on the way. I've done this a couple of times, thinking that it would speed up my writing process, but trust me, it did not. It actually slowed down my writing instead.

If you start writing your wip without at least finishing 80% of your character building process, you'll find yourself getting stuck in scenes, not knowing what your character would say or do, which is very inconvenient.

If you ever get bored of character building and really want to start writing instead, I suggest writing one-shots unrelated to your WIP. By doing this, you don't have to worry about writing your characters out of character, and its actually useful to their characterization process.

3. Experiment!

If you feel like there's something off with your writing, or you're beginning to feel that writing is a chore for you, experiment with different writing techniques. Switch up your genre, time period, plotting method, etc.

For reference, I used to be a pantser who writes plot-driven mystery stories. But now, I'm more comfortable with being a plantser who writes character-driven low fantasy stories! Basically, don't be afraid of change, because it might help you later.

4. Know your ending

In my opinion, the most important thing to consider while writing a story is your ending - not your beginning or middle. You can rewrite your beginning chapters anytime, and you can always figure out your middle chapters later, noone knows how to write the middle of a story anyway.

But if you don't know the ending of your story, you're screwed, buddy. Without knowing how your story ends, you can't write the events that build up to that ending.

You're unsure about your novel's ending at first and decided to throw in a last minute plot twist? That means you've been foreshadowing the wrong ending the whole book, and you gotta rewrite. You don't know how your characters will develop throughout the book? You won't be able to write the journey of their arc throughout the story. Hassling, right? That's why, try not to start writing your WIP without having a possible ending in mind.

5. If you write, you're valid.

Nowadays, the standards of being a writer is that you have to write a full-length novel and be traditionally published. This isn't true, not even the slightest.

You write poetry? You're a writer and valid. You're a screenwriter? Bro, look at the word. ScreenWRITER. valid. You write fanfictions? Valid, and you're not cringey. You have NO idea how much I worship fanfiction writers for writing what canon won't give us. You're writing but don't want to be published? You're still valid. As long as you write, you're valid, because that's the whole point of being a writer.

6. Don't follow every single tip

There's a reason why they're called writing tips, not rules. You're not meant to follow every single one of them, they're only meant to guide you on the way. Some will be useful, some won't, depending on yourself. So please, don't be pressured to follow every writing tip you see.

Instagram Post Ideas

Personal

These posts are about things that relate to you, your writing, and your hobbies.

Meet the writer

WIP introduction

OCs introduction

WIP lore introduction

Incorrect quotes for your OCs

The aesthetics of your OCs

The aesthetic of your WIP

WIP/OC playlists

Comparing your old WIPs to your newer WIPs

Original writing excerpts

Rating lines from your WIPs

Your writing journey

What diversity means to you

Book reviews

Book recommendations

Shoutouts

Account

These posts help others create and manage their account, and/or involve other accounts.

How to start a writing account

How you started your writing account

Appreciation post

Interpreting statistics

Growth and engagement tips

How to make an endcard

How to make a theme

How you make your posts

How to make your account accessible

Topics that people can DM you about

Self-promotion post

Interactive

These posts let your audience interact with your content and often reach more people due to participation like comments and shares.

Incorrect quotes

Alignment charts

_______ as writers

Userboxes

WIP questions

OC questions

Writer questions

Memes

Giveaway

Contest

Music templates

Asking my followers _________ 

What my followers want to see more of in _______

Advice

These posts help other writers in specific or general areas and are typically something you have knowledge about, or something that you research.

Writing __________

Description

Dialogue

Fleshing out characters

Character strengths/flaws

Character arcs

Character relationships

Plot holes

Writing _______ scenes

Helpful websites

Coming up with titles/names

Worldbuilding

Writing prologues/epilogues

Writing first lines/last lines

Writing a blurb

Writing Process

A subset of advice, these posts deal with the writing process and stages of writing.

Outlining

Making a plot

Drafting

Revising

Editing

Making a writing routine

Motivation

Writer’s block/burnout

What to do before/during/after/between drafts

What to know for the [#] draft

Beta reading

Sensitivity reading

Querying

Traditional publishing/self publishing

Inspiration and ideas

These posts help inspire people and often include prompts or pictures.

[Genre] inspiration

Setting inspiration

Writing playlists

Picture prompts

Writing prompts

Dialogue prompts

Name ideas

Subplot ideas

Plot twist ideas

someone, reading my writing: wow great story!

me, sticking my hands in the plotholes: thanks it has pockets :)

a new concept: idiot academia

where u have book smarts but have absolutely no common sense

me, sternly, to a blank google doc: i have written hundreds of thousands of words over the course of my life. you won’t defeat me.

the cursor, blinking: |

i think my wip should make a new year’s resolution to write itself i mean why am i the only one who has to put in the work

Fluffy Winter OTP Prompts

1. Character A explains one of their winter holiday traditions to Character B

2. A sees snow for the first time

3. A and B have a snowball fight (bonus if A flirts with B to distract B)

4. A teaches B how to ice skate

5. A and B go sledding

6. The power unexpectedly goes out during a blizzard and A and B make a blanket fort

7. A and B give each other gifts in a gift exchange

8. A didn’t put on enough layers when they went outside, so B lends them their coat

9. A and B go caroling, but only one of them is actually good at singing

10. A wants to hibernate. B won’t let them

11. A and B bake/cook together

12. A and B make snow angels

13. A forgot their mittens/gloves outside, so B warms up their hands

14. A is looking for a last minute gift and enlists the shop owner, B, for help, but quickly ends up getting distracted by them

15. A is torn between making fun of B’s ugly Christmas sweater and admiring how good they look in it

16. A buys/makes B’s favorite warm drink

17. A introduces B to their family

18. A’s car breaks down and B pulls over to help them

19. A knits a sweater for B

20. A and B have a holiday movie marathon

21. A writes a message in the snow that B can see from their bedroom window

22. A and B watch the winter constellations appear in the night sky

23. A loves the cold. B...not so much

24. A and B share a bed to “conserve body heat”

25. A and B write letters to each other

26. A didn’t like the holiday season, until they met B

27. A and B make paper snowflakes together

28. A and B argue over the appropriate times to put up and take down holiday decorations

29. A and B cuddle by the fireplace

30. A thinks their new haul of scented candles is amazing. B thinks it’s a fire hazard

31. A and B get stuck on a ski lift together

Superior writing advice:

Make your characters FREAKS. Make them DERANGED. Make people think ‘surely this one guy towards the back is normal’ only to reveal FUCK NO. The guy in the back exclusively collects clown paintings (paintings done by professional clowns) and has an irrational hatred of second floors.

On Writer’s Block

I’ve been listening to another book on writing - Save The Cat! Writes A Novel - and while I greatly enjoyed almost all of it, and found it very helpful, at the very end there was a phrase that made me want to punch the wall. 

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block or plotter’s block. There’s only perfectionist’s block.”

The author, Jessica Brody, gave credit for this nonsense to another author, Emily Hainsworth, and I freely admit that I wished both of them great ill at this point in the book. 

I’ve made posts on this subject before… I think?… but never mind, I’m going to do it again. 

People who say ‘there’s no such thing as writer’s block’ or ‘just push through it’ are like people who say ‘there’s no such thing as PMS’ or ‘depressed people could cheer up if they wanted to’. Only someone who’s never experienced it would say something that stupid. And those of us who have tend to react something along the lines of ‘I HATE YOU, YOU SMUG BASTARD, I HOPE YOU DIE DIE DIE’. (One of my PMS symptoms is intensely homicidal thoughts! Fun!) 

But I think part of the problem is that ‘Writer’s Block’ is actually a blanket term, like ‘mental illness’ or ‘chronic pain’. There are multiple types, multiple causes, and multiple ways of handling them. No one approach will work for all of them, and what works great for one will actively worsen another

Here are the four kinds I know about. There may be more, but these are the ones I’ve experienced personally. 

Keep reading

plot feeling a little empty in the middle? here’s some food for thought.

actions have consequences. things that your characters do inevitably can affect other people around them. what might they have done in the past that could come back and serve as an obstacle? or, maybe, what could they do now that could possibly raise the stakes just a little bit more?

subplots! be mindful of the subplots you’re adding - but sometimes it might be a good idea to include one if your plot is feeling a little bit empty. not only can it tie back into the overarching struggle, but it could also serve as a way to explore one of your characters or points further.

character exploration. get to know your characters a little bit better! let your readers find out something new. connecting and understanding the people within your story is important if you want your readers to grow attached to them.

world exploration. similar to the previous point, with the addition of creating a greater sense of familiarity of the circumstances that your story is taking place in. remember that nobody else knows the world of your wip as well as you do - illustrate it even further so everyone else can grasp it even better.

let your characters bond! maybe there’s a lull in the plot. if your characters have the chance to take a breather and get to know the people around them, let them! it might help flesh out or even realistically advance their relationships with each other.