bettsfic:

sorry for the delay in answering – this one really stumped me. i think i know what you mean by magic, but it’s so hard to nail down. i find myself asking, magic for the reader to read or the writer to write? 

and either way, it’s a hard thing to control. you have no way to know how your writing will touch a given reader. and it’s not like you can do some kind of blood sacrifice to summon your muse. they come and go as they please. 

but, having more of a science background than arts, i think: so these are the uncontrolled variables, so what are the controlled ones? that is to say, what does magic feel like to me while i write it, and what parts of that practice are active and consistent?

i remember when i started writing, nothing felt magic because i was too focused on putting one word after the next in a logical sequence. it’s a lot like picking up any new hobby – you struggle at first, and it feels clunky and awkward. then, with most things, over time (even without marked improvement), you build muscle memory just by doing a thing over and over. playing video games, your fingers learn the keys and motions and timing to control your character. competing in a sport, your limbs and muscles learn their necessary movements. at a new job, you have to learn where all the files go and how to use the systems and the timing of everything. 

to get to the magic, you have to build that muscle memory. you have to know what a good sentence feels like to write (because you’ll want to read it over and over). you have to find a physical space in which to write where you’re comfortable and feel your best. you have to find your writing rhythm, your focus, your voice. the only way to do that, though, is to put words on a page, over and over and over. even if they’re totally illogical words and they don’t make sentences or any sense at all, the act of taking something from your brain onto paper is all that matters. you can learn how to play a piano by putting your fingers on the keys and listening to what sounds good. you can learn to run a marathon by putting one foot forward repeatedly without a destination. with writing, with everything, you have to build the muscle memory.

and even after you’ve done that, sometimes the magic still isn’t there. but here are some things that help me find it:

• doing something you’ve never done before. writing in a voice or style you’ve never attempted. stealing someone else’s aesthetic. combining two authors’ aesthetic. changing up the structure of the piece from what you would naturally do. write on a different size sheet of paper. write sitting on the floor in a corner of your house you’ve never sat in. make a character you would never want to know in person and try to get into their mind to understand them. go somewhere you would never otherwise go just to put it in a story. 
• be uncomfortable. sometimes i think things don’t feel like magic because they bore us. and one way to not be bored is to write something you’re so unfamiliar with it makes you uncomfortable to even consider. i’m a very inquisitive person, and when i find something about the world i don’t understand, i want to find a way to understand it. sometimes that’s by research. sometimes it’s by writing. a habit i’ve learned is to embrace all things that make me want to gag, physically or morally, to constantly push my mental and emotional limits on the page, no matter how hard it is or how much it hurts.
• make a puzzle for yourself. i’m halfway between being a planner and winging everything, which basically means i make very loose plot points. this turns writing into a game. i have to figure out how to get each character from point A to B. if i’m not curious about my story, i lose interest in it. so i have to make it interesting enough for me to want to answer all the questions i’ve posed. 
• focus on objects. when in doubt, empower an object. this seems like a totally bizarre thing to do but it really, really works. give a character a material thing that means so much to them, that symbolizes something great, and give that object some kind of power over the character. let your character externalize all their emotions into that object so they have significance. you don’t have to put magic into words, but you can always put it into objects.
• give every character a goal and a reason they want to achieve it. this way, you have two directions to move in: forward, toward the goal, and outward, toward the reason they want to achieve it. if you care enough about your characters and their plight, you’ll be able to escape your own head and hop into theirs, and they’ll drive the rest of the story for you. 
• BE WEIRD. magic is a function of creativity, and creativity is a means of breaking rules and expectations. force your mind to go against your own expectations. do this not only in a big picture sense but in your prose too. try to put words together in a way you’ve never seen them put together before. don’t worry so much about making sense. learn how to follow the rules you’re given or constraints you put on yourself, and then learn now to break them, or better, bend them to achieve what you intend. 

i hope this helps. thank you for the birthday wishes and for posing such a fun question. 

anassarhenisch:

heywriters:

wordsnstuff:

– A lot of questions I receive revolve around editing and proofreading, so I decided to make an extensive guide to editing your own writing. I collaborated with some amazing friends on this post so this is dedicated to them as well as all of you. I hope you find it useful. Enjoy!

---

Know The Difference: Editing vs. Proofreading

Editing is about the content, proofreading is about the technical detail and accuracy. Once you know the difference and you separate the two into different tasks, going through and actually doing it will seem less daunting. Deciding which to tacking first depends on what you’re like when you edit, but if you struggling with focusing on actually improving the content because you get distracted by grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, then proofreading first may be a good idea. 

Be Intentional With Your Vocabulary

• Avoid adverbs
• Be frugal with unique adjectives
• Only use dialogue tags when absolutely necessary
• Be mindful of overused words
• Take the time to find the right words

The words you choose can make all the difference so pay special attention to them.

Just Keep Snipping

A basic rule to editing that people often forget it, if it doesn’t serve a purpose, you should cut it out. A short book that is amazing all the way through is better than a long book that is redundant. Don’t worry about leaving your readers in the dark or not having enough content. As you edit, you’ll find ways and places in which to input more information.

Flow & Rhythm

This is the part where you make sure the writing itself sounds how you want it to. It’s important to read your writing aloud during this stage. Some things to pay attention to regarding flow and rhythm:

• sentence length/variation
• sentence structure
• syllables and how they fit together
• how your writing sounds out loud

Eloquence

Say it once and say it clearly. Redundancy bores readers so quickly, so when putting information forward, be clear, concise, and don’t add fluff. You don’t need to write a whole paragraph about how a character feels in a situation. It’s important to give the reader just enough to read between the lines.

Grammar

Common Grammar Mistakes To Look For

• Subject-verb agreement errors
• Sentence Fragments
• Missing Comma After Introductory Element
• Misusing The Apostrophe With “Its”
• No Comma In A Compound Sentence
• Misplaced Or Dangling Modifier
• Vague Pronoun Reference
• Wrong Word Usage
• Run-On Sentence
• Superfluous Commas
• Lack Of Parallel Structure
• Sentence Sprawl
• Comma Splice
• Colon Mistakes
• Split Infinitives

List from here x {Explains these further and more in depth}

Improper Use of Phrases

• “could have” not “could of”
• “My friends and I” not “me and my friends” {If you take away “my friends” or “I”, or one of the nouns in a sentence in general, the sentence should still make sense}
• “I couldn’t care less” not “I could care less”. This should be a no-brainer.
• etc.. I could go on.

Familiarize yourself with these common mistakes and avoid making them at all costs. It’s also helpful to have someone read over it and let you know when they find issues with phrases you used. Please be attentive to these mistakes because making them can destroy your credibility as a writer.

Utilize The Senses

If you’re describing something in your writing, you should be slipping in words and little details that appeal to the reader’s senses, When editing, look for opportunities to slip in how a place smells, how a food tastes, how something feels to the touch, etc. It’s unbelievable how much this enhances your story.

Punctuation & Format

Punctuation Rules In English

• the period (or full stop in British English)
• the comma
• the exclamation mark
• the question mark
• the colon
• the semicolon
• the quotation mark
• the apostrophe
• the hyphen and the dash
• parentheses and brackets

Source x

When proofreading and marking up your manuscript, it can save a lot of time and energy if you use marks instead of actually write out everything, so here is a little chart I found that may be useful to you:

Other Things To Look Out For

• Make sure you know who is talking
• Keep tense consistent
• Vary the tone from scene to scene
• Run-on sentences
• Inconsistencies in story details
• Plot holes
• Causes and effects of events are explained
• Facts and technical details {Make sure you’ve researched them well}
• Deviations from established background (know your story really really well and make sure your reader does too)

General Tips

• Go in assuming that your work is full of errors. Maybe it’s not, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst and solve the issues now rather than when it’s too late
• DO NOT BE SENTIMENTAL. Yes, easier said than done, but it’s possible. 
• Make the text less recognizable to yourself in order to catch details you may not otherwise.
• Print out your manuscript and physically write out the changes.
• Read your writing out loud. Sometimes writing looks like it makes sense, but in reality sounds wrong. 
• Do it in short periods over time so that you don’t inevitably get lazy with paying attention to little details
• Keep in mind that editing usually takes longer than actually writing the draft because it is less fluid and requires more thought and problem solving.
• Don’t rely on spelling and/or grammar checking software; they’re not always correct and can easily misinterpret what you’re trying to get across. 
• Check for a single error at a time. It may be time consuming and tedious but it’s more effective than the alternative.
• Give yourself time and read slowly through it multiple times
• Split up large chunks of text to make it easier to handle. Don’t go through your whole manuscript page by page as if you were just reading it as a book. Go chapter by chapter or scene by scene or even sentence by sentence.
• If something seems off, investigate it. Don’t take a chance and leave it be. If you’re stumped, highlight it and have someone else look over it.
• Have a strategy. Maybe not at first, especially if you don’t extensively edit your work regularly, but with time you’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t. Create your own system and use it to save yourself some time and confusion.

---

Support Wordsnstuff!

• Request A Writing Help Post/Themed Playlist/Writing Tips!
• Send Me Poetry To Feature On Our Instagram!
• Receive Updates & Participate In Polls On Our Twitter!
• Like us and share on Facebook!
• Read More On Our Masterlist & See our Frequently Asked Questions!
• Tag What You Want Me To See With #wordsnstuff!
• Participate in monthly writing challenges!

I just want to add that I once proofread a classmate’s creative writing assignment and her character said “What in carnation?”

And she didn’t get it. She had no idea.

A very good list! Though I deliberately break a few of the grammar rules for style, because I want my writing to sound colloquial (me and my friends) and things like sentence fragments and run-ons do a lot for pacing and/or jokes. So … proofread within reason, yeah? Some books are going to be great if you follow these grammar rules, and some books will be less good afterwards.

I wholeheartedly support the rest of the advice, though.

kaasknot:

How to write a rough draft*

*for really long fics

Thanks to the marvels of modern technology, there are reams of time-lapsed YouTube vids of artists plying their craft, and every now and then I stumble across artist livestreams, where people can watch them as they work in real-time. For developing artists, I can only imagine how unbelievably helpful these are: you can get a pretty solid idea of how an experienced artist goes from concept sketch to finished product, with a click of a button. As a writer, I’d give my eyeteeth for a comparable resource.

Problem is, it’s really hard to show that process for a writer. There’s a post somewhere saying that the OP would like to offer livestreaming while they write, but it wouldn’t exactly be riveting material—just half an hour of a blinking cursor on a blank page. That post is both true and accurate, and it explains exactly why “in medias res” posts for writing are hard to come by.

But it also gave me an idea.

Like any writer, I have approximately one billion wips, all in various stages of completion, which I can use to illustrate how I get from idea to end. In other words, I’m gonna try to “livestream” my writing.

Keep reading