theliteraryarchitect:

Just a friendly reminder that writing is not always a linear process.

That is, it rarely works out that you have an idea, then do a first draft, then edit that draft, then celebrate. The writing process itself is often an act of discovery, and can be messy and “inefficient.”

• You may write your first draft and realize it has major holes, causing you to need to return to your outline, correct the issue, and re-approach your draft.
• You may discover that the character you thought was your main character is not your main character. It’s actually her sister, and now you need to rewrite your story.
• You may change your point of view character several times before landing on the right one.
• You may write 9 drafts of your story only to realize the fundamental concept is flawed, bringing you back to the drawing board.
• You might throw away hundreds of pages.
• If you’re writing a novel, you might outline, then draft, then re-outline, then re-draft several times before you even get a solid handle on where you’re going with your story.
• You might write four different endings before you decide which one works best for your story.
• You might remove characters, combine characters, add characters.

…all of this is normal. If this is happening to you, you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re a writer, and this is what writing is like sometimes. Sure, some writers seem to be able (or claim to be able) to write more quickly and efficiently. But there’s no sense in comparing yourself to them, and most of them are lying anyway. Instead of criticizing yourself, try to become curious about and embrace your process. There’s something awesome about how mysterious and unpredictable writing can be!

This was one of the top two most important lessons I ever learned about improving my craft. I used to be really against starting over or going backwards in the process, and once I had something written all I would do was try my best to improve that version of the story. But now my pieces frequently go through a full rewrite as the second draft (I’m in good company–Lauren Groff does this too) and it’s been SUCH an improvement in the final product.

(via shaelinwrites)

I’VE BEEN ACCEPTED FOR MY MFA!!!

Y'all, I’M GOING TO GRAD SCHOOL!!!!

official-deutschland:

adhdheather:

to remember how many feet there are in a mile, u just gotta use 5 tomatoes

five to-mate-oes sounds like five, two, eight, 0 and there’s 5280 feet in a mile

To remember how many meters there are in a kilometre you just remember “1000” because the system of measurement in the rest of the world wasn’t invented by a drunk mathematician rolling dice.

(via thechocolatebrigade)

stydiahappenedin2017:

My aesthetic: Books. Books at the bookstore. Books on bookshelves. Books coordinated by color. Books coordinated by series. Books with fantastic covers. Books that are small. Books that are huge. Books. BOOKS.

(via ameliaadriannabooks)

derinthemadscientist:

Play idea: perform MacBeth, but when the witches are doing their prophecy thing, they segue into telling the story of Hamlet. Hamlet is chatting with the ghost when it starts telling a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The audience becomes slowly aware that the programs and advertisements did not publish a runtime for the performance. Ushers start handing out new programs, with new actors’ names on them in previously unmentioned roles. Every single known Shakespeare play is nested inside the performance. The theatre doors are locked. 

(via books-and-time-travel)

squidong:

Periods are canceled for 2018. This year, I don’t want to bleed unless it’s from a wound I earned in honorable combat.

(via grandpa-cat)