I have had it in my mind for years now to write a super hero series or vampire series with all Black characters.

Part of what’s holding me back is nerves of branching outside of my comfort writing zone. But also, there’s not much of a basis to go on. Sure, there are some Black writers in the sci-fi and fantasy genres, but not many.

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writersfriend:

These writing tips cover the basics and the most important aspects of writing.

1. Do it. Write.
2. Read as much and as often as you can. Remember, every writer is a reader first.
3. Keep a journal or notebook handy at all times so you can jot down all of your brilliant ideas.
4. Make sure you have a dictionary and thesaurus available whenever you are writing.
5. Be observant. The people and activities that surround you will provide you with great inspiration for characters, plots, and themes.
6. Invest in a few valuable resources starting with The Chicago Manual of Style, and The Elements of Style.
7. Grammar: learn the rules and then learn how to break them effectively.
8. Stop procrastinating. Turn off the TV, tune out the rest of the world, sit down, and write.
9. Read works by highly successful authors to learn what pleases publishers and earns a pretty penny.
10. Read works by the canonical authors so you can understand what constitutes a respectable literary achievement.
11. Join a writers’ group so you can gain support from the writing community and enjoy comradery in your craft.
12. Create a space in your home especially for writing.
13. Proofread everything at least three times before submitting your work for publication.
14. Write every single day.
15. Start a blog. Use it to talk about your own writing process, to share your ideas and experiences, or to publish your work to a reading audience.
16. Subscribe to writing blogs on the Internet. Read them, participate, and enjoy!
17. Use writing exercises to improve your skills, increase your talent, and explore different genres, styles, and techniques.
18. Let go of your inner editor. When you sit down to write a draft, refrain from proofreading until that draft is complete.
19. Allow yourself to write poorly, to write a weak, uninteresting story or a boring, grammatically incorrect poem. You’ll never succeed if you don’t allow yourself a few failures along the way.
20. Make it your business to understand grammar and language. Do you know a noun from a verb, a predicate from a preposition? Do you understand tense and verb agreement? You should.
21. You are a writer so own up and say it out loud: “I am a writer.” Whether it’s a hobby or your profession, you have the right to this title.
22. Write, write, write, and then write some more. Forget everything else and just write.

amandaonwriting:

Excellent worksheet for creating and developing characters.

amandaonwriting:

Literary Birthday - 22 March 

Happy Birthday, James Patterson, born 22 March 1947

James Patterson: Nine Writing Quotes

1. I write first thing in the morning, about 360 days a year.
2. I find that I’m working on three or more projects at any given time. For some reason, this is a very comfortable way for me to work.
3. Stop trying to write sentences and start trying to write stories.
4. I’ve always concentrated on the product. There are very few cases where people or enterprises or franchises have succeeded unless the product is really good for that audience. [Writers] always want to hear it’s the advertising. It isn’t—it’s the product.
5. As I do with all of my books, I outlined The Beach House from the beginning to end.
6. I’m always pretending that I’m sitting across from somebody. I’m telling them a story, and I don’t want them to get up until it’s finished. I’m very conscious of an audience. I’m very conscious that I’m an entertainer. Something like 73 percent of my readers are college graduates, so you can’t condescend to people. You’ve got to tell them a story that they will be willing to pay money to read.
7. Knowledge is valuable, but imagination is invaluable.
8. People that really know me consider me to be an incredible underachiever. Because I was supposed to, you know, really write nice, serious books. And… I don’t know, got derailed, and here I am.
9. If it’s commercial fiction that you want to write, it’s story, story, story. You’ve got to get a story where if you tell it to somebody in a paragraph, they’ll go, “Tell me more.” And then when you start to write it, they continue to want to read more. And if you don’t, it won’t work.

Source for Image

by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write

Clearly I’m going about life wrong already, starting with number 1. I don’t write every day. I can’t even remember the last time I wrote on my stories. I can’t expect to get my ideas out there if I don’t finish them. :(

All the time. There are some things I wrote over 10 years ago that will never see the light of day. Burn and destroy all evidence.

I got all set up, opened the document, and everything was like “SIKE! GOT’CHA NIGGA!”

It’s been months since I’ve written anything. Probably because I’ve come to resent my own story. The place I got stuck in, is such a horrible place. It didn’t turn out the way I wanted to, and I have yet to figure out how to fix it. Every idea I come up with sucks completely and I just plain give up.

Guess I’ll go watch ‘24’ now.

careline18:

60% Staring onto a blank screen

5% Drinking tea/coffee

20% Freaking out because WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I WRITE?

10% Procrastinating on the internet Bullshittin’ on Tumblr

5% Looking for music to write with

8% Actually writing.

*edited to fit me

88tillinfinityy:

askgangsterthor:

katesgotabow:

I’ve had one of these since high school. My English teacher was adamant about never using said unless we had to.

omg…this is so…amazing… 

Why? English teachers are full of shit. I could know every word in the world and then just start going POTZ N PANZ N DISCOMBOBULATE N CAGAMOSIS N LIRIPIP FAECAL MATTTER N EGGY FARTZ ON A SUNDAY MORNIN, that doesn’t mean anything.

Anybody who wants to be a writer, develop your actual technique (simile/metaphor/assonance/consonance/development etc), and be concise with your wording. That is all. I failed English, and guess what I do for one of my jobs now? 

Bless you 88tillinfinityy

Sometimes, I think I’m a vampire. An Underworld vampire, badass like Selene.

Which reminds me, I need to work on my supernatural novel. It’s just been sitting, and sitting, and sitting. I haven’t made it out of the characterization stage yet.

thatblckgrl:

verandahmaureen:

Poets are cowards because they hide behind their powers of poetic deception.
Creative inflection
tone
personification
known deflection of the real issues at hand.

“I want to fuck you AND make it nasty”
turns into the far more classy

“Allow me to use your body as a straw, sucking out the raw uncut juices of your love from the container that is you.
Who are you fooling you coward.

Hiding behind your creative poetic powers as if an hour ago you weren’t thinking some messed up non poetic thing.
Some non edited thing.
Poets are cowards because they bring unnecessary sentiments into everything.

And they’re cowards because they dress up everything they say.
Comparing thee to a summer’s day just isn’t enough. Poets compare you to stuff that doesn’t even exist.
And its this allowance that we give them that goes to their heads.

Poets are cowards because the things that are said aren’t always real.
Aren’t always feels like the kind normal people have.

Poets are cowards because they brag about the elusiveness of their ideas,
creative mysteries for years unsolved by anyone, including their muses.
And it amuses them because that’s just how cowards get off.

Poets are cowards with faults they try to dress up as eccentricities.
Who are you kidding we see right through you, coward.

Say what you mean how or when it happens.
Say what you really think,
that’s when you’ll really be free.

*People who disagree need to look up sarcasm. This poem is doused with it. wonderfully written!

writeworld:

BY Colin Nissan

WRITE EVERY DAY
Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about.

DON’T PROCRASTINATE
Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to Google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. A wicked temptress beckoning you to watch your children, and take showers. Well, it’s time to look procrastination in the eye and tell that seafaring wench, “Sorry not today, today I write.”

FIGHT THROUGH WRITER’S BLOCK
The blank white page. El Diablo Blanco. El Pollo Loco. Whatever you choose to call it, staring into the abyss in search of an idea can be terrifying. But ask yourself this; was Picasso intimidated by the blank canvas? Was Mozart intimidated by the blank sheet music? Was Edison intimidated by the blank lightbulb? If you’re still blocked up, ask yourself more questions, like; Why did I quit my job at TJ Maxx to write full-time? Can/should I eat this entire box of Apple Jacks? Is The Price is Right on at 10 or 11?

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ghdos:

laughricanamerican:

#1……………

I get 1, 5, 6, 7 and 10 on a weekly basis.

Ain’t that the truth.

This. Is. Me.