so remember that worldbuilding website, notebook.ai, that was goin around and everyone was so excited, but it turned out you had to pay a (frankly outrageous) subscription to access any of the best tools?
What’s it like to fall?, Uriel asks, eyes concerned but wary. She’s the first one to ask and the memory hits Lucifer like a brick to the gut. The darkness of the space, the blinding light of flashing stars, the cold wind that whips around his ears- It’s like being born all over again, Lucifer laughs and locks the rest behind his teeth.
What’s it like to fall?, Azrael asks next and his voice is curious, as if he’s walking over a frozen lake waiting for the ice to break. Lucifer looks at him and wishes some of his naivety back again, the wide eyes, blowing open, the curious hitch of his voice, God on your tongue – It’s like losing one of your limbs, Lucifer finally whispers but he’s not sure Azrael even heard it.
What’s it like to fall?, Gabriel asks when they meet, eyes determined but calm like deep rivers. His presence is as soothing as it always was and when Lucifer closes his eyes he’s almost sure he can hear the voices of his brother’s and sister’s in heaven. It’s like a mouthful of apologies, Lucifer murmurs and loses himself to the memory just a tad longer.
What’s it like to fall?, Raphael asks with a sharp grin and his lips twisted in a haunting way. Something ugly coils inside Lucifer and he remembers Michael’s touch on his shoulder, throwing him out, the pain on his chest, the taste of blood on his tongue – It’s like losing all hope, Lucifer snorts and ignores the sour taste in his mouth.
What’s it like to fall?, Metatron asks, voice full of fear. Lucifer wonders, for a brief second, if God is still with them, peeking over the edged shoulders of his children, waiting for the betrayal to set in again. He feels suddenly incredible tired. It’s like becoming a monster, Lucifer answers and flinches from the burning phantom pain on his shoulders.
What’s it like to fall?, Michael asks with fire behind his eyes and his lips pressed into a thin line. Lucifer watches his brother, shoulders square and muscles tensed from clenching his hands too tight. He remembers the his wings catching fire and the reek of burned flesh in his nose, his skin in shreds on his back – It’s like dying, Lucifer chokes and ignores the pain in his brother’s eyes.
I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.
Whenever you’re writing, and you’re about to introduce a male character, think to yourself “Can I replace him with a female or non-binary character?”
If the answer is yes, do it. Fill your writing with women as often as possible.
It’s amazing how people disagree with this. It’s amazing that some people are so against putting more women in books. If gender doesn’t matter people, then I call for removing all men from books. Let’s never have another cis man in a book every again.
Also, to someone who I won’t name, who care if you’ve published two novels? I’m published. And you know who has three published novels? That woman who wrote Fifth Shades of Gray. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve published. Hitler was published even.
well. I kinda do disagree. like, if I am writing something and gender actually matters. But on the whole of the subject, def more women in literature.
If gender matters, then by all means keep your characters male! I know I have a story where a few characters absolutely cannot be female. But I was planning another story the other night, and I thought “And then the main character’s brother should be introduced.” But after a minute I decided “Why not his sister?” And it absolutely won’t affect the plot, and I get to have another woman in my story.
I think the key phrase that people forgot was “if”. IF you can change the gender of a character without it affecting their story arc/plot/etc, then do it. You were never trying to say that you HAD to change their gender and make everyone a woman/nonbinary, but IF you can, go for it! Especially if you have few women/nonbinary characters in the story already. Having a wider variety of characters in general is always better.
If possible, go for more ethnicities/sexualities too!
People seem to think that making your characters more diverse will be shoehorning
natives have little to no representation in the media and some of you never met a native in real life, so you don’t understand what we’re going through or what we’re like. many people see us as mascots, indian princesses, or magical indians. which is problematic, because we’re human beings. which is why i decided to create this guide to educate everyone on harmful stereotypes and on how to write a native character. i hope this guide is helpful! a like/reblog is always appreciated.
Yesterday, I was trawling iTunes for a decent podcast about writing. After a while, I gave up, because 90% of them talked incessantly about “self-discipline,” “making writing a habit,” “getting your butt in the chair,” “getting yourself to write.” To me, that’s six flavors of fucked up.
Okay, yes—I see why we might want to “make writing a habit.” If we want to finish anything, we’ll have to write at least semi-regularly. In practical terms, I get it.
But maybe before we force our butts into chairs, we should ask why it’s so hard to “get” ourselves to write. We aren’t deranged; our brains say “I don’t want to do this” for a reason. We should take that reason seriously.
Most of us resist writing because it hurts and it’s hard. Well, you say, writing isn’t supposed to be easy—but there’s hard, and then there’s hard. For many of us, sitting down to write feels like being asked to solve a problem that is both urgent and unsolvable—“I have to, but it’s impossible, but I have to, but it’s impossible.” It feels fucking awful, so naturally we avoid it.
We can’t “make writing a habit,” then, until we make it less painful. Something we don’t just “get” ourselves to do.
The “make writing a habit” people are trying to do that, in their way. If you do something regularly, the theory goes, you stop dreading it with such special intensity because it just becomes a thing you do. But my god, if you’re still in that “dreading it” phase and someone tells you to “make writing a habit,” that sounds horrible.
So many of us already dismiss our own pain constantly. If we turn writing into another occasion for mute suffering, for numb and joyless endurance, we 1) will not write more, and 2) should not write more, because we should not intentionally hurt ourselves.
Seriously. If you want to write more, don’t ask, “how can I make myself write?” Ask, “why is writing so painful for me and how can I ease that pain?” Show some compassion for yourself. Forgive yourself for not being the person you wish you were and treat the person you are with some basic decency. Give yourself a fucking break for avoiding a thing that makes you feel awful.
Here’s what stops more people from writing than anything else: shame. That creeping, nagging sense of ‘should be,’ ‘should have been,’ and ‘if only I had…’ Shame lives in the body, it clenches our muscles when we sit at the keyboard, takes up valuable mental space with useless, repetitive conversations. Shame, and the resulting paralysis, are what happen when the whole world drills into you that you should be writing every day and you’re not.
The antidote, he says, is to treat yourself kindly:
For me, writing always begins with self-forgiveness. I don’t sit down and rush headlong into the blank page. I make coffee. I put on a song I like. I drink the coffee, listen to the song. I don’t write. Beginning with forgiveness revolutionizes the writing process, returns its being to a journey of creativity rather than an exercise in self-flagellation. I forgive myself for not sitting down to write sooner, for taking yesterday off, for living my life. That shame? I release it. My body unclenches; a new lightness takes over once that burden has floated off. There is room, now, for story, idea, life.
Writing has the potential to bring us so much joy. Why else would we wantto do it? But first we’ve got to unlearn the pain and dread and anxiety and shame attached to writing—not just so we can write more, but for our own sakes! Forget “making writing a habit”—how about “being less miserable”? That’s a worthy goal too!
Luckily, there are ways to do this. But before I get into them, please absorb this lesson: if you want to write, start by valuing your own well-being. Start by forgiving yourself. And listen to yourself when something hurts.
Great post is great, and this goes for ANY thing you have trouble motivating yourself to do… homework, cleaning, etc. You need to work WITH, not AGAINST, yourself.
I compiled most of the writing websites I’ve mentioned on my blog into one post. I find a lot of these sites useful, so hopefully they can help you out!
Imagination Prompt Generator: This give you a one-sentence writing prompt that will help you come up with ideas. I think it also allows you to set a ten minute timer for each prompt.
Wridea: I really like this site because you can write down simple ideas that you can organize later and put into a bigger project. You can share these ideas or the site will help you randomly match ideas. It’s great for brainstorming and building a fully formed outline.
List of Unusual Words — Here’s a site you can browse through that gives you a list of unusual words for every letting in the alphabet. If you’re looking to switch up your vocab, or looking to develop a way a character speaks, this is a good reference.
Picometer — Here’s a writing progress meter that can be embedded on your site or blog. There’s also the Writertopia meter that shows word count/current mood.
Cut Up Machine: This website takes whatever words you typed or pasted into the box and rearranges your sentences. It’s not practical for writing a novel, but it might help with poetry OR coming up with ideas. Experiment with it and see what you can come up with.
Orion’s Arm: This is a great website to use if you want to research worldbuilding or if you have science questions. There are tons of resources you can use.
Word Frequency Counter: If you’re finding that you’re using the same words over and over again, this website should help. You’ll be able to count the frequency usage of each word in your text. This should help you switch up the words you’re using and understand where the problem might be.
Phrase Frequency Counter: This is same site explained above, but it counts the phrases you’re using.
My Writing Nook: This allows you to write or jot down ideas wherever you are. You don’t need to have your laptop in order to access it, so it might help you during this time. You can write as long as you have your phone.
Writer: The Internet Typewriter – This site lets you write, save, share, and/or convert your writing online. I tried it out and it’s pretty cool. It saves for you and is a great way to brainstorm or plan out some ideas.
The Forge – The Forge is a fantasy, creature, spell, and location name generator. It’s awesome.
One Word: This site gives you one word to write about for 60 seconds. This should help you get started with your own writing and will work as a writing prompt to get you warmed up. It’s a great way to get yourself motivated.
Confusing Words: On this site you can search through confusing words that often stump many writers. It’s not a huge reference, but it should help you with some writing/grammar issues.
Cliché Finder: This site allows you to enter parts of your writing and it will search for clichés. If you find that you’re using the same phrases over and over again, this will help a lot. I haven’t messed around with it too much, but it looks useful.
Hand Written Fonts: If you’re looking for great hand written fonts, this is a great reference. All of them are pretty awesome.
Tip of My Tongue — you know when you’re trying to think of a specific word, but you just can’t remember what it is? This site will help you narrow down your thoughts and find that word you’ve been looking for. It can be extremely frustrating when you have to stop writing because you get a stuck on a word, so this should help cut that down.
teakepp 