Gallery
Literature
Freewriting (+ Prompts)
You're staring at a blank page with no ideas about where to go or how you're going to get there. The image is so familiar, it's cliché. Yet no matter how many times we write about it, sing about it, or think we've gotten rid of it, we always end up returning to that sheet of paper as empty as our minds.
If you're mid-story and wondering where to go, this guide is unlikely to help you. You may want to try "Beating the Block," which lists a few scene ideas. If you're a visual artist and came here by mistake, try the "Art Block Banisher."
However, if you just want to put something—anything—on that piece of paper, this guide
Featured
1 deviation
Literature
8 Tips for Having Your Story Critiqued
8 Tips for Having Your Story Critiqued
Today I want to talk about the critiquing process—mainly, how to prepare for and deal with another person test-reading your story. With these suggestions, I hope to prepare writers for critiques of multiple calibers, how to interpret them, how to deal with the person giving the critique, and how to handle the suggestions that are given. It sounds simple but it may, in fact, be the most difficult part of the writing process to learn. But remember, I have faith in you, or I would not be writing this! :)
Tip 1: Remember that the critic is your best friend.
No matter if you are dealing with a very l
Grammar and Proofreading
7 deviations
Literature
Luna Rose's Actually Useful Mary Sue Litmus Test
Reposted from my blog
"Dear Miss Luna Rose,
I’m worried that my character is a Mary Sue. She has dyed purple hair and pretty blue eyes. She witnessed her dad’s murder at age 7 and it left her with some issues. She’s also bad at dancing and sometimes her anger flares up and she does things she regrets. Is she a Mary Sue?"
—Concerned writer #472
I get questions like this all the time. And I never can tell them a “yes” or “no.”
Why not? Because
I can’t possibly tell from a short description, andthis misunderstands what it means to be a Mary Sue.Honestly, I blame litmus tests.
What’
Characterization
18 deviations
Character Attributes
4 deviations
Literature
8 Tips for Plotting a Fictional World Timeline
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
8 Tips for Plotting the Timeline of Your Fictional World
Anybody Can Write a Novel
Chapter 1 “World-building” – Section 2 “World History”
With Links to Supplementary Material
Once you have established what Type of Story you want to write, you have created the cornerstone of your story—an idea or a blank page of the exact size and shape and color that you want. The next step is to start the sketch by creating a historical foundation for your story. Now, I'
Building Worlds
2 deviations
Literature
7 Guidelines to Carefully Craft Story Paragraphs
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
7 Guidelines to Carefully Craft Every Paragraph in your Story – With Reference Links
One of the most unexpectedly difficult tasks in writing is learning how to craft paragraphs. It's simply not a skill that we learn in most schools, and mostly relies on our reading and slowly learning the skill from those authors who have mastered it. However, from what limited resources exist on the internet, we can build a checklist to make sure that all of our paragraphs have a solid foundation, as we
Style
4 deviations
Literature
6 Steps to Creating Your Plot Premise
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
6 Steps to Creating Your Plot Premise
Anybody Can Write a Novel
Chapter 2 “Creating a Plot” – Section 1 “Plot Premise”
Unlike what I once thought, plot is not a natural result of telling a story. Plot, like all other parts of writing, is a craft that must be studied and then designed with purpose. That being said, there are many different ways that one creates a plot—and countless theories as to how they can be created with the most efficiency. Over the ne
Plotting and Planning
7 deviations
Literature
6 Suggestions for Overcoming Writer's Block
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
6 Suggestions for Overcoming Writer's Block or Lack of Inspiration
A writer writes, always. But sometimes there is simply no motivation—our muse simply does not motivate us like it normally does, and we have to think of ways to cope with the situation so that our writing does not depend on fleeting emotions or feelings. Here are my top suggestions for overcoming “writer's block” and for continuing writing no matter what.
Suggestion 1: Remind yourself that writer's block does n
Inspiration and Writer's Block
5 deviations
Avoid That dArama
Anyone who has been an internet user for a period of time should know that drama is one of the hallmarks of the absolutely wonderful technology that allows us to be connected 24/7. It's like glitter, one moment all you see is just a fleck of it then suddenly, it's everywhere. DeviantArt is chock full of massive amounts of it (drama, not glitter!) at any given time, so let's talk about what you need to know to avoid it (aaaand what to do if you find yourself in it)!
:bulletred: I just caused the argument because... I wanted to get more pageviews, I wanted to be popular, for the lulz, I was bored
Girl, bye.:bulletred: I ALWAYS have to replyIf
Presentation, Attitude, and Marketing
2 deviations
Literature
10 Requirements for Writing a Publishable Novel
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
10 Requirements for Writing a Publishable Novel
Today, I would like to announce a project that I hope all of you will be as excited to be a part of as I am. As you all know, my writing guides and tutorials have been rather random, as I was still testing the waters of the internet. I wanted to know if anyone could possibly be interested in what I had to say about the craft of writing, and I was overjoyed to see all of your enthusiasm. And so, I would like to announce that I will be shifting gears
Publishing
9 deviations
Literature
Discord Word War Server - How to Join
Do you like to write socially? Does a competitive angle help you get more writing done? Then you should come stop by Warring Writers on Discord!
Warring Writers is a Discord server for word wars, NaNo griping, and more. Through the month of October, we'll be ramping up our word war channel to get ready for NaNoWriMo next month.
Click Here to Join
Discord is a chat service somewhere in between IRC and Skype. The Warring Writers server has four public channels where users can chat. The word war channel is run by volunteers who keep time and announce the start and stop of each war.
You can sign up to run wars by going here. Even if no
Multi-Subject and Misc.
17 deviations
Plotting and Planning7
